Peter Carroll in Krapp’s Last Tape. Photograph: Shane Reid
Tortured voices and the sound of rushing winds build to an almost painful crescendo before a sudden silence falls, punctuated by the single, ominous chime of a church bell. Then comes the soft dragging of a ragged Victorian gown as Pamela Rabe appears in the gloom to perform Samuel Beckett’s eerie and unsettling Footfalls; the first of three Beckett pieces presented in this State Theatre Company of South Australia production for the Adelaide Festival.
With the memory of Lisa Dwan’s recent Perth performance of the same play fresh in this critic’s mind, it was intriguing to see Rabe perform Footfalls, accompanied by a pre-recorded Sandy Gore as the woman’s elderly, unseen mother. Dwan’s performance was a masterpiece of subtle grief and barely-spoken terror; Rabe brings a different and slightly less engaging emotion to the role, a sense of panic barely contained by the precise routine of her pacing back and forth over bare floorboards.
With her wide, anxious eyes, and a mouth sometimes gaping in a voiceless yawp of terror, there were moments when Rabe’s presence recalled Goya’s depiction of Saturn Devouring His Young; Ailsa Paterson’s sparsely elegant set and costume design (one’s eye was drawn to a toe protruding from a worn slipper, the stage beneath it showing the wear of Rabe’s endless, precise footsteps) coupled with Ben Flett’s lighting and Geordie Brookman’s subtle direction adding to the impression of an unavoidable, fated terror waiting in the wings.
After an unexpected delay (Rabe’s carefully measured dance with death was interrupted by a fainting audience member, overcome by the stifling conditions of the Scenic Workshop) we were ushered into the Rehearsal Room for Eh Joe, masterfully performed by Paul Blackwell and economically directed by Corey McMahon.
Originally written for television, this surgically precise exploration of guilt and desperation takes place in a dramatically foreshortened grey room lit by flickering lights. After peering through the curtains in a routine that instantly establishes the emptiness of his life, the dressing-gown-clad Joe returns to his bed, where he sits and listens to a voice (Rabe again) – a memory? His conscience? Outwardly he barely reacts to the voice save for his fists occasionally tightening, but on a scrim at the front of the stage we see his face in close-up, the camera slowly zooming in until his haunted eyes, glistening with unshed tears, fill the screen, dominating the room and everything in it – even Blackwell himself.
The production offers a compelling contrast between Joe’s still silence and the emotions which wash across Blackwell’s haunted face as the piece unfolds; the actor’s restraint, and the physical control he displays while subtly revealing inner turmoil, is masterful, making Eh Joe the highlight of the three works presented as the Beckett Triptych.
The final piece, Krapp’s Last Tape, is the lightest of the three and less claustrophobic, though being Beckett, it still takes us – audience and actor alike – into dark and uncomfortable places.
Perched on a platform surrounded by junk and empty space – the physical embodiment of the detritus of an empty life – the elderly Krapp (Peter Carroll) listens back to a tape recording of his younger self describing a romantic moment whose resonance and importance has faded with the passing years. It’s a moment both poignant and comic; Carroll’s studied performance, all exasperated grunts and tongue protruding with exertion, allows us to laugh at the tragic figure he plays, even as we recognise his loneliness and the absence of hope and light in his life.
Overall the Beckett Triptych is a strong production but one which – Eh Joe excepted – fails to truly animate the plays despite breathing life into them. Despite accomplished performances and direction, there’s the faint sense of this being Beckett by numbers: respectful and assured, but not dazzling.
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Beckett Triptych
A State Theatre Company of South Australia production
Three short plays by Samuel Beckett: Eh Joe, Footfalls and Krapp’s Last Tape
Directors: Geordie Brookman (Footfalls), Nescha Jelk (Krapp’s Last Tape) and Corey McMahon (Eh Joe)
Set & Costume Designer: Ailsa Paterson
Lighting Designers: Ben Flett (Footfalls and Krapp’s Last Tape) and Chris Petridis (Eh Joe)
Sound Designer: Jason Sweeney
Cast: Paul Blackwell (Eh Joe), Peter Carroll (Krapp’s Last Tape), Pamela Rabe (Footfalls) and Sandy Gore (Footfalls)
State Theatre Company Scenic Workshop & Rehearsal Room
Adelaide Festival Centre
20 February – 15 March
Adelaide Festival of Arts 2015
www.adelaidefestival.com.au
27 February – 15 March
