Culture

Bi-Cultural Theatre Class (3.5/5)
 
 27th Terrain: the Co-ordinates of Home was a devised piece by the Bi-Cultural Theatre class. I enjoyed myself a lot. Sometimes I didn't quite understand it, but I definitely had a good time. Personally I think that devised theatre is best created by a small team – this way the ideas that form are cohesive. 27th Terrain felt disconnected from itself. There was a storyline that (sort of) flowed in a narrative format, but I left the theatre confused. It wasn't that the ideas or the execution were bad, it was more that there was too much happening in a way that wasn't very clearly expressed. One of the images that I loved within the piece was when Kelsey and Katene lay on the floor, slotted together, with his head on her shoulder, and her head on his. This wonderfully represented the love the two characters had for each other, as well as being a nice way to tie the very strong beginning of the play to the central storyline.
 
I also really liked it when Wun (Sui Fe) and Lapid were rockstars: “I don't like the blue sky, it makes me cry”. It was a nice light-hearted part of the play that was a welcome break from the confusing moments of tension, like when the mother died in childbirth. It took me a couple of minutes and the whole umbrella sequence to figure that one out. The ferns were nice. I felt that the projection let down the Doctor Lovewell scenes – why not have a real actor playing the character himself? It felt rushed and didn't add to the performance. I would have liked to see someone really playing to the girls. It was a funny part of the play, but it could have been a highlight if there was that element of human interaction.
 
With the cast and crew totalling 39 people (which freaks me out a bit – that's a lot of people and creative input), they were able to successfully fill the whole space, and although it seemed crowded at points, Halba, McCallum and Tamati did well to give everyone their fifteen minutes. Although I didn't understand the whole thing, I definitely enjoyed it. Churr!