by
Mammad Aidani
At La Mama until June
2, 1996
Reviewed by Kate
Herbert around May 16, 1996
Ever tried saying a word over and over until it completely
loses its meaning? In An Idiot Among Us by Iranian-Australian poet, Mammad
Aidani, the said idiot, Ollie (John Penman) struggles in his creeping
disengagement from reality to make sense of language. Much of Aidani's
experience of spoken English as a second, even third, language is reflected in
An Idiot.
The play has a distorted, early Lou Reed world-view; like
looking at life through the bottom of an empty vodka glass at four in the
morning. Initially, its skewed, absurd observations are funny but relentlessly
the piece becomes disturbing and words form a complex mesh through which we must
beat a path. The quality of words becomes almost hallucinogenic when strained
through Ollie's deranged, self-destructive thoughts. It is exhausting.
The character is obsessed with "re-structuring"
himself and the world. Seinfeld fans refer to George thriving on doing the
opposite of his instincts.) He has travelled from "egotist" to
"idiot". Ollie dramatic
heritage is clearly other isolates such as Beckett's Krapp or Hibberd's Monk
O'Neill.
Director, Lloyd Jones, has taken an essentially verbal piece
and layered it with carefully and tastefully composed stage pictures and a
consistent physical presence of four evocative, provocative actors (Heather
O'Connell, Ramez Tabit, Tegan Richardson, Ian De Lacy) and even the stage
manager. The space at La Mama has been
re-set to feature The Fireplace and actors shift position unnervingly behind
and around the audience seating.
Penman's performance is refreshingly unaffected for this
kind of poetic monologue. He is personal without being invasive and provides a
poignant, tragic and hilarious snapshot of a delusional man. He scrambles for
thoughts and resorts to farting, the only thing which seems to keep him
grounded. His emotional pain and existential angst are palpable.
Cast: John Penman, Ramez Tabit, Tegan Richardson, Ian De
Lacy
KATE HERBERT
300wds
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