| Review by Lisa Bennie, November 2006
Do you believe in fate? That you were born and your destiny is predetermined? Whether it be through God moving his pieces or an abstract Donnie Darko style interpretation of fortune it’s something we all question at times, and the theme central to Lorca’s play in a melding of reality and fantasy. Presented by Queen Margaret University College and directed by Wendy Seager this production premiers new talent on and offstage.
In a family tainted with the murder of a son and father The Mother (Laura Molyneux) prepares to reluctantly marry her remaining son (Lee Hunter) to a local girl (Lysianne Thomas) with a reputation for having previously courted. A supposedly joyous occasion, but for a family with death looming on the outskirts can life have a happy ending?
Staged within the St. Bride’s converted church, the authentic pillars frame the alter design (Eira James) which shows a Spanish community deeply involved with their religion, but less with the forgiveness it preaches. In its original setting the production feels removed from the contemporary, with attempts to modernise through the use of projected Dali paintings ruining an otherwise elegant set, and recorded guitar music becoming repetitive. With an actor rather than action driven script giving the students a chance to test their abilities, it fails with Seager layering too many techniques around them. Whilst the singing gives a sense of community, tableaux with snap spot lighting jar the flow, and take you out of the moment. The fantastical scene in the woods, also feels like a fumbling in the dark, as though Seager wasn’t quite sure of how to handle it. As the characters all brood on the past and dark times rather than light, it’s a possibility these fates are merely the manifestation of an obsessed mind, and the idea that we make our own fortune. On the final steps towards graduation these QM students will be hoping for a more favourable destiny.
St. Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh, until Sat 4 Nov
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