An Evening of Beckett
On the 11th 12th and 13th of July members of the theatre company Port in Air performed “Is it still Day?” an evening of Samuel Beckett at the Severins Burg Theatre. The three very different short plays provided an evening of thought provoking contrasts.
Footfalls, 1975, directed by Lily Mcleish started the event with a fast paced, visual feast. Use of black light, film projections and sharp angular movements increased the sense of disorientation. The role of May is split into three parts in this production, played by Julia Freihoff. Sarah Freihoff and Kerstin Rheintal. Their dialogue continually revolving May’s inner anguish. May entered this twilight world, while still little more than a child,“ Now in her 40’s she continues to endlessly pace out her life on bare boards declaring; “I must hear the feet however faint they fall”.
Catastrophe 1982/84 directed by Astrid Kröse provided a stark contrast. It starts with a long silent pause as the audience observe the director and his assistant appraising his actor. Piece by piece the director, played by Niklas Schulz, orders his assistant, Lea Kaiser to deconstruct the image of the actor, till he is left semi naked and shivering, the light now only on his down turned face. “Lovely”, says the director in smug satisfaction, “There is our Catastrophe, in the Bag”. As the audience applaud, the actor, Steve Bonde, lifts his tear stained face to stare accusingly back at them.
Rough for Theatre 1 the earliest and most naturalist piece, written in the late 50’s, was directed by Jochen Molitor. Samual Horn and Tim Mrosek play the two unfortunates “Made for each other” who find each other in a dark indeterminate place. One is blind and plays tunelessly on a violin; the other in a wheelchair is happy that he has discovered how to move backwards. The blind man asks “Is it still day?” as they live out their hopeless existences. Through Billy’s searching hands the two lonely men undergo a transformation from fear and distrust into a tenuous state of relief and acknowledgement. Their desire and need for communication is soon overcome once more by their fear and loathing and they return to their isolation.
The production „Is it still Day?“ will return to the Severinsburg theatre in October.
Port in Air is a young, dynamic theatre group from Köln, working in the English language. It was founded in 2003 by Richard Aczel who teaches English literature at the University of Köln. They have performed different productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and at the MOT Festival in Macedonia.
Text: Carol Laidler.
