Unsex Me - Review

Not much sex and no Macbeth, but plenty of imagination **** Unsex Me Riverside Theatre Parramatta Thurs 11th – Sat 20th August Rather naively perhaps, I was half-expecting a lot of moaning and hip thrusting in this one-actor physical theatre show at the Riverside Theatre last night. But rising young director Michal Imielski’s latest venture, Unsex Me, while not exactly family-friendly, is not at all vulgar or gratuitous. Instead, it is an imaginative exploration of the emotional life of the single young urban man, performed by co-devisor Nick Atkins through dance, puppetry, spliced and patterned monologue, dialogue with himself and the audience, and at one point some very bad singing. This is not simply a single character. Atkins is not a man but the man. His sexuality and even occasionally his gender are malleable. Sometimes he is many people, shifting with the constantly moving play of light from one character to the next, but leaving them all curiously the same. He is not quite an archetypal Everyman in the classical sense, but his experiences can nevertheless touch something in all of us. A well-meaning but interfering older relative, a self-help book that confuses more than it helps, awkward dates, awkward disco dancing, speed dating, all peppered with nostalgic reflections on bittersweet memories of love and lust, elation and rejection. The set is sparse but evocative, dominated by a huge pale red balloon that trembles gently as if alive, fleshly, brain-like, womb-like. The tiny theatre in the Riverside complex at Parramatta is as intimate as this balloon and the show’s subject matter. The strobe lights irritated the eyes but emphasized the choppy nature of the movement, while three red neon bars of light reminded us of the nightclub where most of the action takes place. A collection of real glass wine glasses delighted and terrified the audience in turn as they assumed puppet personalities speaking in nonsense syllables (something that is rapidly becoming an Imielski trademark) and later, nearly smashed, being caught neatly at the last moment by the limber and nimble Atkins. He steps, sure-footed, between the glasses and sits amongst them, watching as they gradually pair off into cosy couples as time passes, leaving his own glass alone. I felt terribly sorry for this one lonely glass. Imielski’s largely original music and sound design is mostly either melancholy or gritty. At one or two points the music seemed to assume centre stage, which may have been intentional but I felt it disturbed the fine balance of the show’s elements. Most of the time however the music blends seamlessly into the show and is very atmospheric. The show ended on a half melancholy, half hopeful note with the man sailing off into his future; the raw feeling of a single man stepping with metaphorical feet far less sure than his dancerly real ones, through the emotional landscape of his twenties and thirties. This is not a spoiler, because there is essentially no narrative. Narrative lovers and traditionalists, go elsewhere. Theatre-goers who hate participation, you too stay away. There is more audience participation in this show in terms of quantity and daring than I have seen for quite a while, and some performances may test Atkins’ skill in improvisation and managing tricky situations caused by cynical, over-enthusiastic or plain rude participatory audience members wanting to stir the theatrical pot. But I think Atkins can handle it. Despite his youth he is obviously a seasoned performer and carries the show capably. The show is perhaps five or ten minutes too long for the style, and the lazy audience member will probably get bored. But the intelligent and open-minded theatre-goer will enjoy the journey. One who is receptive to evocative symbolism and innovative modes of performance will find Unsex Me makes for a very interesting evening. Four stars.