I am currently in London for a couple weeks visiting my boyfriend and applying for some postgraduate opportunities. We are both great lovers of theater so while I am here we bought tickets to a few of the productions going on in London. A few nights ago, we went to the Young Vic, a very hip and fun bar/theatre, to see the much talked about play “Golem”. It was an amazing experience, partly because we were allowed to drink beer during the play, and also because the performance was unique and extremely captivating.
The play follows a young man named Robert as he slowly succumbs to the flirtations of technology, which eventually leads to the destruction of his friends and family. The story is narrated by his sister Annie and set in a world unlike any you have seen before. The production combines expertly crafted animation displayed on a large screen and the live performance of the actors interacting with each other and the two dimensional scenery. A drum set and piano, played by two of the actors, remain on stage through-out the performance. The live music creates a powerful rhythmic influence on the animation and actions of the characters. It was a very small gesture, but I loved when one of the characters in the piece knitted in time to the music. These small nuances are what made this play so captivating. The precise way in which the characters moved in time to the animations and interacted with the animated creature “Golem” was truly inspiring. Their hard work and practice is evident in the flawless performance that challenges our previous conception of performance art. The piece represents the way that theater is itself evolving with technology and challenging the difference between film and live-performance.
Des Pains au Chocolat 