WEEKEND

“A play adrift in the cosmos. A play found in the scrap heap. In between the space of these two statements we have attempted to evoke the artistic freedom that was so inspiring in the ‘mise en scene’ of Jean Luc-Godards’ film Week End. Vive La Revolution.” This statement by consummate Director Lynne Ellis appears to locate the starting point for the amusing, entertaining, wholly outrageous romp of a piece of theatre that is Weekend.

Warning this production is unsettling; it uses strobe lighting, is riddled with foul language, loaded with sex, frequently explodes into violence and ‘bends gender’. All this added to the variety of ways the audience is engaged, and indeed incorporated, at times, render the discomfort of ‘Theatre of Cruelty’ at its most potent. Weekend is liberating, wildly funny and full of shocking behaviour and some wickedly outrageous acting, particularly from Ben Andrews as the sexy and lascivious Corinne and Sam Sejavka in his never to be forgotten role of the Mother. He is some Matriarch.

Starting out as a ‘road story’, fast littering with car crashes and merging into a tale of family horror reminiscent of The Cenci, it is riddled with rape and very bloody murder. This amalgam would leave one gasping for air if it wasn’t presented with such dry ironic humour and literally signposted along the way.

It’s a play after all and anything can be portrayed with a bit of cardboard and the use of a sewing machine – can’t it?

Weekend is a must see for those who want to have a refreshing look at how wild, affective and inspirational ‘poor theatre’ can be in the hands of enlivened practitioners. It is a very courageous collaborative work that Antoine Artaud would surely have found impressive.

Hold on to your psyche as you delve into managed chaos!

Suzanne Sandow

Photo: Ben Andrews and Francis McMahon. Photography by Mitch Ellis.