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 RAOUL
Adelaide Festival Theatre
Until 06 Mar 2012
Review by John Wells
James Thierree’s one-man show “Raoul” is a wondrous - if flawed - extravaganza of movement, clowning and wordless expression.
The vastness of the Festival Centre stage is enclosed by a huge patch-work curtain – like an imaginary world under worn bedclothes, a world lit by secret torches long after the lights are tuned out – and filled with child-like fears and adventures. On the empty plain stands a rickety wigwam-like castle of sticks and cobwebs, inside of which lurks Raoul.
Raoul is assailed by his doppelgänger as the battle between external and internal Raoul plays out. By stage trickery and delightful (but sometimes cumbersome) circus business, Thierree is both Raouls. The castle refuge is gradually torn down. Raoul confronts strange dreamy creatures, a slithering coelacanth-like fish, skeletal birds and a raggedy elephant. “Raoul” meditates on isolation, the sense of self and otherwordliness.
When this show works, it works with mesmerizing brilliance. Thierree’s physical dexterity is astounding. With both balletic precision and loose-limbed fluidity, he evokes a whirling Prospero, both in control of his world and beset by magical forces he cannot tame. There are beautifully crafted and realised physical sketches, featuring slow-motion dance, neo-moonwalking and dramatic acrobatics. The imposing musical score and sound effects are woven seamlessly into the performance.
The illusion is self-consciously theatrical. We are always aware this is make-believe: we can see the stage-hands, the lights and the ropes and pulleys; we know it is manufactured, and we can delight in the feel of hand-made, rough magic.
But too much of “Raoul” is repetitive filler. Much of the physical business is over-worked and tiresome. The show rambles along far too long and we become disengaged. Equally, the first section of the show is pedestrian and unfocussed. The creatures are unnecessary and become grating. The narrative thread is simple and cannot be sustained throughout the production. Thierree is credited as designer, director and performer – he needs an editor with a critical eye and a ruthless scalpel to trim this show down.
Despite the peaks and troughs, the quality of the physical theatre and Thierree’s charm mean this is a largely transfixing night of theatre.
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