THEATRE: THE DUEL
- Author:
- Amelia Groom
- Posted:
- Monday, 15 June 2009
Nobody does obsessive torturous guilt quite like Dostoevsky. His final novel The Brothers Karamazov deals with the same moral dilemmas about crime and punishment that had been explored in Crime and Punishment: Is there any use in confessing? Is the painful inner anguish one goes through for a terrible sin they commit enough penalty on its own, or do we need public, externally inflicted punishment?
Adapted from a single chapter of The Brothers Karamazov by Sydney Theatre Company Associate Director Tom Wright, The Duel is a testosterone-fuelled hour and a half examination of cowardice, courage, shame, forgiveness, and the process of ‘fessing up.
The procedure of self-examination and laying out the truth takes place under stark, uncomfortable, neon lights; an appropriate choice by lighting designer Damien Cooper. Stuck in the horribly lit, cheaply furnished, claustrophobic room with a window but no door, the characters recite and re-enact the text while occasionally smoking, drinking and dancing to bad house music (it’s all a bit Big Brother Household).
The strength of the production relies primarily on the timeless power of Dosteovsky’s verse and the brilliant performance from Brian Lipson as the ‘mysterious visitor’. While the structure could do with a little work, it marks quite a feat from emerging 24-year-old director Matthew Lutton.
Until June 20. Wharf 2, Sydney Theatre Company, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay. $25-45, 9250 1777 or sydneytheatre.com.au/next-stage
Photo by Tracey Schramm
Story posted on Monday, 15 June 2009, filed under Theatre & Performance. Follow responses via the RSS feed.
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