Innocence

Innocence takes its audience on a journey similar to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: a dystopic, amoral world that nonetheless inspires hope.

In his director’s note, Joh Hartog writes that “just like a really good piece of music, [Innocence] cannot be caught by a short description in the program.”

Nonetheless, us reviewers attempt just that: Innocence brings together a collection of outrageously idiosyncratic characters, draws blood from them, and then lets them at each other like sharks in a frenzy.

Piece by piece, links form between the characters; some obvious, many subtle, such as Ella (Anna Linarello) having authored the book that Absolute (Samantha Soh) is reading.

On the subject of writing, Dea Loher’s script is usually masterfully wrought, but sometimes has gaping novice-level holes. Case in point: during the first two scenes, the characters flag when they’re switching to interior monologues, but for the rest of the play this convention is abandoned, sometimes confusingly.

Despite this, the A-league cast deliver brilliant, bold performances. First among these is Ann Portus as the chronically inappropriate Frau Habersatt.

Fadoul (Jesse Butler) and Absolute (Samantha Soh) share a dramatic dynanism, and Frau Zucker (Bridget Walters) provides emotional pacing with her comedic relief.

While the play borders on falling under the “experimental” label, the cast succeed in making it accessible to any adult.

Daniel G Taylor

Images: (Top) Bridget Walters, Ann Portus, JesseButler, Samantha Soh and Nic Krieg. (Middle) Ann Portus, Amy Brooks, Hjalmar Svenna. (Lower) Jesse Butler, Samantha Soh,Nic Kreig.

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