Red Cross
Thu, 1 July 2010, 08:22 amGordon the Optom1 post in thread
Red Cross
Thu, 1 July 2010, 08:22 am‘Red Cross’ is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard, of ‘Oh! Calcutta’ fame. Written in 1966, ‘Red Cross’ and two others won an unprecedented three OBIE Awards in the same year. This vivid and comic experimental work is presented by The Blue Room Theatre and The Wet Weather Ensemble at the Blue Room Theatre at 53 James Street, Northbridge at 7.00 pm until the 17th July.
Carol (Caris Eves) wakes with a terrible headache, and she is convinced that her head will explode at any moment. She looks for sympathy and understanding from her partner, Jim (Ian Sinclair), in the other twin bed, but he is far too worried with his own unpleasant condition. Carol decides that a shopping spree may help clear her head.
As she leaves the maid (Alicia Osyka) arrives to change the sheets on the beds, but Jim makes her life very difficult – after all, if this hypochondriac is suffering, then why shouldn’t the maid? Jim thinks that there are gaps in the maid’s education and so he sets out to teach her, whether she wants to learn or not! Do his deadly lessons go too far?
Red Cross has been called ‘frustratingly ambiguous or even hopelessly contradictory’. I saw this several years ago and it was tedious, here however, director Sarah McKellar has skilfully dragged out every ounce of emotion and interest from Shepard’s very complex and enigmatic script. Even Shepard himself says “It’s about fear, I think!” Has someone died and been reincarnated? Who knows? You will probably leave asking 'what the hell was that about?' My guess is that it is about insecurity, and a neurotic outlook on one’s health coupled with a fear of death.
There is no credit for the set design, but I think this was the work of Daniel Romanim. He chose a totally white set, the walls, beds, every small prop and costume was white – until the end when a splash of scarlet was introduced (symbolic of blood?). The delicate lighting by Karen Cook was again all white, but she managed to capture the different shades of white, from the blue white ‘north light’, to the hint of the warmer tungsten lighting. The subtle sound design by Will Slade rounded off the whole production.
The three actors were amazing, with most of the hour’s drama being in the hands of Ian and Alicia. They gave a truly energetic, emotional performance. The parts called for excitement, grief, suffering, love and comedy – and there were lots of laughs. I think that Ian was possibly the best male performer at the Blue Room this year, with Alicia being very near the top of the actress list.
Frustrating, weird but funnily enough gripping. A superb production.
‘Red Cross’ is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard, of ‘Oh! Calcutta’ fame. Written in 1966, ‘Red Cross’ and two others won an unprecedented three OBIE Awards in the same year. This vivid and comic experimental work is presented by The Blue Room Theatre and The Wet Weather Ensemble at the Blue Room Theatre at 53 James Street, Northbridge at 7.00 pm until the 17th July.
Carol (Caris Eves) wakes with a terrible headache, and she is convinced that her head will explode at any moment. She looks for sympathy and understanding from her partner, Jim (Ian Sinclair), in the other twin bed, but he is far too worried with his own unpleasant condition. Carol decides that a shopping spree may help clear her head.
As she leaves the maid (Alicia Osyka) arrives to change the sheets on the beds, but Jim makes her life very difficult – after all, if this hypochondriac is suffering, then why shouldn’t the maid? Jim thinks that there are gaps in the maid’s education and so he sets out to teach her, whether she wants to learn or not! Do his deadly lessons go too far?
Red Cross has been called ‘frustratingly ambiguous or even hopelessly contradictory’. I saw this several years ago and it was tedious, here however, director Sarah McKellar has skilfully dragged out every ounce of emotion and interest from Shepard’s very complex and enigmatic script. Even Shepard himself says “It’s about fear, I think!” Has someone died and been reincarnated? Who knows? You will probably leave asking 'what the hell was that about?' My guess is that it is about insecurity, and a neurotic outlook on one’s health coupled with a fear of death.
There is no credit for the set design, but I think this was the work of Daniel Romanim. He chose a totally white set, the walls, beds, every small prop and costume was white – until the end when a splash of scarlet was introduced (symbolic of blood?). The delicate lighting by Karen Cook was again all white, but she managed to capture the different shades of white, from the blue white ‘north light’, to the hint of the warmer tungsten lighting. The subtle sound design by Will Slade rounded off the whole production.
The three actors were amazing, with most of the hour’s drama being in the hands of Ian and Alicia. They gave a truly energetic, emotional performance. The parts called for excitement, grief, suffering, love and comedy – and there were lots of laughs. I think that Ian was possibly the best male performer at the Blue Room this year, with Alicia being very near the top of the actress list.
Frustrating, weird but funnily enough gripping. A superb production.