Kraken is the second show at the Brisbane Festival from Trygve Wakenshaw, who performed Squidboy last week – and Kraken treads similar territory. Again Wakenshaw conjures non-stop laughter as he prances, squirms and mimes his way around an empty stage with only his imagination and the audience for company. However, Kraken is even more stripped back and is focused on the most interesting elements of Squidboy.
Narrative threads that Squidboy retained are gone and instead transitions in Kraken are physical, as one absurd action morphs into the next and each scenario dissolves or is perfunctorily (and hilariously) tossed aside before being replaced by a new imaginative world. The themes are cruelty and violence, both of which Wakenshaw inflicts liberally on himself, the audience and the innocent animals of his imagination. It is remarkable that he is able to spend an hour violently maiming everything he can think of, while never showing a hint of meanness. There is an innocence and joy to everything that happens in the show that makes it impossible to moralise about the violent theme. It is almost like an exorcism – accepting, even relishing, the violence that lurks in our hearts so that we can leave the theatre feeling like a dark secret has been cathartically shared.
The overarching feeling of the show is light, joyful and loving. Wakenshaw is a master of engaging with his audience and of provoking interplay between audience members. The relationship between the performer and the audience creates a sense of ‘theatre’ despite the lack of narrative and character. Instead of watching a relationship we are building one. It is a relationship rooted in playfulness so that even at its most obtuse the show is always open and welcoming. This is not the kind of performance that is trying to show off or impress, and all the laughs are with rather than at.
Wakenshaw does have an impressive set of skills at his disposal. His physical specificity is impressive and it would be easy to imagine him being a dancer in another life. Instead all that skill is poured into being as awkward and bizarre as possible. He masterfully physicalises his bizarre fantasies, making them visible to us and so palpable that we can happily join in the imaginative game.
Kraken, in all its particulars, is a dark and violent work but the show as a whole is a delightful and joyous experience. Wakenshaw works his magic to unlock the delighted child within us all and then serves up imaginary sausages made from his own intestines. It is an experience not to be missed.
Rating: 4½ out of 5 stars
Kraken
By Trygve Wakenshaw
La Boite Studio, Kelvin Grove
Brisbane Festival
www.brisbanefestival.com.au
Until September 27
