Saturday 26th September until Saturday 10th October 2009 @ Bristol Old Vic, Bristol

The combined imaginations of Rupert Goold and Ben Power have turned Luigi Pirandello’s 1920s postmodern stage play into a multimedia opera which simultaneously scales the giddy heights of metadrama and that of exaggerated reality. The version currently playing at the refurbished Bristol Old Vic is melodramatic and dizzying but refreshingly original.

Both the audience and a fictional team of documentary makers attempt to interpret the bizarre lives of six larger-than-life characters who march into their office demanding to be heard. The problem of deciding whether life or theatre are stranger, is cleverly foregrounded by offsetting caricatures of broken familial relationship with the media. The image-distorting self-scrutinisation of modern society comes through well. Clever touches such as both the opposite appearances of ‘acting’ characters and ‘real’ characters mean that the vital confusion between reality and drama is effectively conveyed.

Goold’s direction is bold and the co-ordination of the whole production seamless. Special effects such as a girl drowning in a tank of water, not unlike that in Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet film, are well worked and surprising. Even the highly disturbing scene of a dishevelled maniac from under a bed at one point shocks us so much that we almost forget to be disgusted at his obscene sex obsession and demeanour. But on a set resembling that of Extras, references to euthanasia clinics’ ethics seem unnecessary and are as superfluous as the over-long final scene. It is coincidence that euthanasia has so recently been in the news but this is unfortunate timing and its inclusion seems a little tasteless.

In fact it often seems that impact is achieved at the expense of subtlety. The production feels like it wants to be a film and is not happy to just to include television in the plot. It sometimes forgets that the speed and energy saturation of film cannot be transferred to the stage without overwhelming the audience a little. So, whilst very effective, the intensity of the action could do with dampening at times.

On the other hand, the aforementioned set makes an effective bland background to colourful characters such as the screaming stepdaughter. Played by Gina Bramhill, her voice is initially brilliant but is hard to stomach after a few intense scenes. Jack Shepherd, however, never shrieks yet remains a powerful on-stage presence; he, as with the other actors, is excellent throughout.

6 Characters In Search Of An Author is not the kind of show one might expect from a postmodern play. It is worth seeing as unique but be warned: The phrase ‘mind-blowing’ applies to much of this production but it leaves odd sense of dissatisfaction as we wonder what on Earth the final scene was for and whether we have missed something amidst all the shouting. What Pirandello would have made of it is anyone’s guess.

www.6characters.co.uk

Katy Austin