Tristan & Yseult
by Peter Jetnikoff & Stephen Joyce
La Mama at Lonsdale St Power Station until Dec
12, 1996
In the end, Tristan and Yseult die the death they should
have died in the beginning: suicide for lost love. Truth and passion don't rule
the world but power, history and comfort.
Yes, comfort. People choose the comfortable worn armchair.
Even Yseult returns to her royal husband and abode after three years desperate
exile and scrounging in the forest with her lover. Living hand to mouth with a
loved one is not much fun as anyone on the dole can vouch.
This non-Wagnerian Tristan & Yseult, written by Peter
Jetnikoff & Stephen Joyce is performed at the Lonsdale St Power Station. It
is produced by La Mama which now has tentacles reaching right out into every
available small theatre venue.
The disused warehouse contrasts the concrete industrial
location with the delightfully classical style of the text. The poetic almost
Elizabethan form of the dialogue and narration is coupled with stylised action
and compelling performances by the entire ensemble.
The audience, after initially standing around uncomfortably,
is seated around a manually revolving "Wooden 'O' " to witness the
unfolding of the poignant tale of passion, besmirched honour and betrayal. One
never tires of these such human frailties. The two are star-crossed, like Romeo
and Juliet, coming from warring kingdoms of Cornwall and Ireland. As he escorts
Yseult to marry King of Cornwall and end the conflict, Tristan (Luke Elliot)
falls in love with his Queen-to-be (Vanessa O'Neill) and here begins their tale
of doom and destiny.
The poetic, almost Elizabethan, form of the dialogue and narration is coupled with stylised action and compelling performances by the entire ensemble. There is a warmth and richness in the storytelling and a tautness in Bruce Naylor's direction which holds us for three hours. The recipe of tragedy with a tincture of irony which is inherent in the text, is heightened by Drew Tingwell's dwarf-narrator and Bruce Kerr's King. Alex Pinder provides the weight of experience and rationality in his Governal.
Luke Elliot's complex and driven Tristan is layered with the
naivete and lust of youth and Vanessa O'Neill portrayal of Yseult is
intelligent and detailed. The two create exciting and credible lovers. The
whole piece is coloured and supported by subtle lighting and live music by Nick
Papas and Caroline Lee.
The very opening fifteen minutes were slow with narration
over dumb show but the piece flies for the remaining hours. This is really
gripping myth-telling See it!.ˆ
KATE HERBERT
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