Photos - Riccardo Musacchio & Flavio Ianniello'We take risks, not to escape life, but to stop life escaping us’.
Jerome Bel took a huge risk in presenting his latest work, The Show Must Go On, and it’s the first theatrical experience I have had since I saw David Mamet’s Oleanna in the early 90’s where the theatre literally came to life. Audience members called out to the actors on stage, yelling abuse and heckling, as the paying public became the performers.
The Show Must Go On couldn’t be more minimalist. There’s no dancing, no acting, minimal movement, no set, no musicians and nothing notable about the costumes, but in Paris when it was first performed the audience became violent.
The show begins and the stage is black. A DJ sits at the foot of the stage, where a conductor might ordinarily be placed, and plays a track of a CD. It finishes and the audience applauds with humour, as if the track was the overture. The audience giggles as the DJ removes the CD, inserts a new one and plays ‘Let the Sunshine in’. The anticipation is intense, as the audience wonders: ‘what’s going to happen?’
Eighteen actors appear on stage, dressed and looking like they walked out of the nearby train station – a street mix of heights, weights, hairstyles and fashion. They stand and stare at the audience...and stare...and stare...
Just when we’re wondering how much longer this can go on, the hit ‘Let’s Dance’ plays and the actors do – moving, grooving, bouncing their breasts, stomachs, humping the floor – surreal, but gripping.
By this stage, one realises there’s a direct connection between the tunes being played and the actors reacting to them, like a dialogue between the songs and performers.
Until...a turning point. John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ kicks in and the director forces the audience to do just that. The lights go off and ‘imagine’ is all there is to do. The audience is getting restless. It’s followed up with ‘Sounds of Silence’ and after that lyric is sung, the sound is taken down and we are in darkness and silence. The audience is baffled. Is this what we paid for? What is this garbage? Why don’t the actors do something?
The song ends and the actors come out and stand in a long line at the front of the stage, staring blankly at the audience. ‘Sexual Healing’ is played, but the actors don’t move. The audience does. People got up and danced in the auditorium. One, then another, more and more...most of the audience were up and dancing, as nothing seemed to be happening on stage.
And that’s when I felt something special happening. It was a huge risk by Jerome and his performers. There was a genuine sense of danger. Anything could have happened. The Melbourne audience was polite and merely danced at their seats, but in Paris people got on stage and pushed the actors around, wanting desperately for them to do something. In another city, a man got on stage and danced himself.
At the end of the performance, the audience was treated to a question and answer session with Jerome Bel. He said he didn’t create the piece to provoke violence or any specific kind of reaction from the audience. He is presenting a community on stage; a group of people who live (and perform) by a code or set of rules. In the audience, in each city, sits a different community and the way the audience reacts, calls out, gets angry or restless says something about the community watching the show.
Aristotle believed an essential ingredient in the creation of drama is surprise. The Show Must Go On was full of it; one surprise after the next. Some people may have been bored, angry or confused by the piece, but no one knew what was going to happen next, especially when the audience became vocal and got involved. It was a lesson about us, the audience and our community...and I loved it.
Melbourne International Arts Festival presents AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
The show must go on
Jérôme Bel
Venue: the Arts Centre, Playhouse
When: Tue 16 Oct at 8pm
Wed 17 Oct at 6pm & 9pm
Thur 18 Oct at 8pm
Duration: 1hr 30min no interval
Prices: Full $45 / Groups (8+) $40.50 / Conc $33.75 / Student $22 / School Groups $12
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 136 166
www.melbournefestival.com.au