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| Kagerou Photo: Bryony Jackson |
Kagerou, Arts House
The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 was known the world
over as the Fukushima disaster, named after the nuclear power plant that was
heavily damaged by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Kagerou, subtitled
A Study in Translating Performance, focuses on the experiences of one woman,
Kyoko, a survivor of the earthquake.
Director and creator Shun Hamanaka has created a documentary
experience, with performer Yoko Ito live-translating interviews conducted with
Kyoko over the years since the tragedy.
The original interviews with Kyoko form part of an aural soundscape,
while we hear the performer tell the story in English. Translation is key to
the performance; we are being brought into Kyoko’s world but are still held at
a slight distance.
We see projections of images filmed at Hisanohama; images
that are mostly still but move just a little. It’s delicate and subtle, much
like Ito’s performance – there are no bold moves or grand acting moments, just
a reporting of one woman’s experience.
Taking a large-scale tragedy that affected tens of thousands
of people and focusing in on the experiences of one woman and one city is very
effective. Kagerou recontextualises
our experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake as a news report about a
nuclear facility to a story of personal tragedy. Delicate and profound.
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| Little Emperors, rehearsal. Photo: Tim Grey |
Little Emperors, Malthouse
The title of this show references “Little Emperor Syndrome” –
the end-result of an entire generation of Chinese children born without
siblings under the country’s One-Child Policy. It was created in collaboration
between Australian playwright Lachlan Philpott and Beijing-based director, Wang
Chong.
In Little Emperors,
there are two children: a son, who was kept secret, and a daughter, the oldest
child. The son, Kai-wen, moves to Melbourne to become a theatre director,
something his mother wouldn’t approve of. She also wouldn’t approve of his
homosexuality either, so he keeps that secret for as long as he can.
The show is not so much about a clash of cultures, at least
until mother and daughter arrive in Melbourne to surprise Kai-wen, but an
exploration of a relationship between two children – one of whom is kept at a
distance because of the one-child policy.
The script itself feels a little undercooked; Kai-wen’s
story hits several clichéd beats about feeling at a remove from his family. His
awkward relationship with one of his collaborators in Melbourne feels much less
rich than the story explored between mother and daughter and, sometimes,
between sister and brother.
I wonder how this show would play in China and if my
cultural sensibilities dulled some of the impact of the revelations late in the
play.
The direction and design is stunning, though – and the
performances by Alice Qin and Diana Lin, as mother and daughter, brought a
richness to the experience the rest of the show lacked. The actors perform much
of the show thigh-deep in water and there are many moments of tension exorcised
through vigorous splashing.
Little Emperors
explores an interesting subject but fails to be as compelling as it could be or
should be.
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