Salome in Cogito Volume III
The Rabble
It has been so long since a show has divided audiences as vehemently as this one did on opening night. And with all the soap opera type of theatre going on at the moment it is a big and beautiful breath of fresh air. 
Many audience members were ready to walk out they were so disgusted with this production. In fact one member was ready to put a call through to DOCS.
For this reviewer it is when you see this happening that you know that theatre still has a power to move and to shock. A power that many think is long lost.
But The Rabble have done it again. Bigger, better and more brilliant than their previous outing at CarriageWorks.
This time they take on the story of Salome, the step-daughter of Herod. The story goes that she danced (the dance of the Seven Veils) for Herod who was so taken by it that he promised her whatever she wanted.
“And the chance came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast to his lords, and the high captains, and the chief men of Galilee; And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and did a dance, Herod and those who were at table with him were pleased with her; and the king said to the girl, Make a request for anything and I will give it you. And he took an oath, saying to her, Whatever is your desire I will give it to you, even half of my kingdom. And she went out and said to her mother, What is my request to be? And she said, the head of John the Baptist. And she came in quickly to the king, and said, My desire is that you give me straight away on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was very sad; but because of his oaths, and those who were with him at table, he would not say 'No' to her. And straight away the king sent out one of his armed men, and gave him an order to come back with the head: and he went and took off John's head in prison, And came back with the head on a plate, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.”
Mark 6: 21-28
For centuries, Salome was a figure of sinful lust – a femme fatal which then lead to 19th Century French novelist Flaubert using her as inspiration for a short story. Famously, Oscar Wilde then wrote a play about her and Richard Strauss an opera.
This is the second production that The Rabble have presented in the enormous and cavernous space at CarriageWorks. Bringing together all the literary influences of this mysterious female character, The Rabble have shown that this character can still divide audiences in a brutal way.
But it is not so much the literary history of the character that shocks, but rather the dark and adventurous playfulness they use to portray her. The staging, the grotesque characters, the props, the madness. It is all so wrong but at the same time it is deliciously just right.
With barely any words spoken, five actors play out the tragic story with absolutely stunning theatrical images, a soaring sound track and a creativity that is desperately needed in our oh-so dry theatrical landscape of kitchen sink drama and tame theatre adventures in Sydney.
By using the enormous depth and breadth of the space they create an atmosphere that wouldn’t be too removed from a freakish goth museum. In its presentation it has the smell of Castellucci, but The Rabble have enough talent, originality and delightful humour to easily get away with it.
This play is certainly not for everyone, but if you like your stories and your humour dark and strong, then Salome is the thing to see.
Until 17 May
$20-30
CarriageWorks
245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh NSW 2015.
http://www.carriageworks.com.au/
http://www.therabble.com.au/
Photo credit: Brett Boardman
Monday, 12 May 2008
Review: Salome
Posted by sydney arts journo at 11:10 AM
Labels: Alternative Arts, Australian Plays, Local Culture, Review, Theatre
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8 comments:
It's fairly standard in the Review form to at least mention the names of SOMEONE involved in the production.
Maybe you could start putting this information at the bottom. You know, writer, director, cast ...
And your hotlink to Carriageworks doesn't work.
Fairly standard? Sometimes standard? Not completely standard?
Who sets this standard cyber?
Yes Cyber - I have been thinking about that for a while - and maybe I could do what Theatre Notes does.
The reason I didn't mention anyone in this review is that the last time I reviewed The Rabble I got a complaint from someone who didn't get mentioned. And from a group as collaborative as The Rabble I was amazed.
So I ended up not mentioning anyone.
Sigh.
It's probably a case of - you should either mention everyone - or no one.
This time - it was no one.
You can visit their website if you would like to learn about them:
http://www.therabble.com.au/
Thanks anon. It's a reasonably, fairly, understandable standard of the construct of the form of a Review that reference will be made to the collaborationists. And yes SAJ, abandon it at your whim ... but it's really about credit where credit is due.
I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard such drastically different reports that I'm dying to.
Hmm, felt like a sanitised Castelluci, stripped of all its life and power rather than something I would walk out on. I didn't feel a divide in the audience I talked to, they were just bored rather than offended and if I see another child used on stage in such an unintegrated way i may have to stifle a yawn.
Interesting that the bulk of this "review" is given over to contextualising the production in a way that shouldn't even be necessary. Were it not called "Salome", I'd defy anyone in the audience to have any idea what this show was attempting to do or say or be. I love risk-taking theatre, I love spectacle, I love imagination. But I really, really hate being bored and repelled by a production so self-indulgent that it forgets its audience and the primary need to engage it.
I still say it was as if David Lynch were hire to rewrite Wilde's play, which he agreed to, but only on the condition he hire mute acrobats, and that it was directed by Terry Gilliam, who was going through divorce proceedings at the time.
Beautiful, passionate, absurd, and downright silly at times, but I loved it. And yes, my partner was one of two young ladies I know of that wanted to call DOCS when the three-month old baby came on stage.
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