Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Putting a contemporary spin on age old lore: FC Bergman’s 300 EL X 50 EL X 30 EL at BAM and The Kilbanes’ WEIGHTLESS at WP Theater

• By drediman
• October 3, 2022
• No Comments

This past weekend, I attended two fascinating theatrical productions that draw on and put contemporary spins on age old lore. As per usual, here are my thoughts on them.

300 EL X 50 EL X 30 EL
Brooklyn Academy of Music / Harvey Theater at BAM Strong
Closed

Relaunching the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s much-missed Next Wave festival after its pandemic hiatus was FC Bergman’s 300 el x 50 el x 30 el (RECOMMENDED) at the Harvey Theater at BAM Strong. Originally staged more than a decade ago, the project established the then-fledgeling Belgian theater collective as a force to be reckoned with. The visually striking work – which now makes its U.S. premiere after having toured the show extensively in Europe – is inspired by the biblical flood chronicled in the Old Testament (the show’s title refers to the dimensions of Noah’s ark). Set in a small village nestled in an unnamed forest, FC Bergman’s avant-garde update depicts the escalating domestic events amongst the community’s inhabitants as they all races towards an impending disaster. Despite its decidedly experimental bent – this is Next Wave, after all – there’s a crowd-pleasing sense of anything goes playfulness that pervades the piece. Although some of the antics seem obviously designed to illicit easy gasps and laughter, I found its collective view of a community on the fast-track to some sort of game-changing reckoning to be compelling theater. The elements of this carefully calibrated hybrid multimedia production are rendered elaborately, complete with a huge cast (there’s a coup that I won’t spoil for you), an immersive set, and a film crew. Altogether, art installation, theater, and film meticulously come together with to forge a unique experience that’s both intensely voyeuristic and forcefully communal.

WEIGHTLESS
WP Theater
Through October 16

Much less avant-garde in its retelling of stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses is WP Theater’s production of Weightless (RECOMMENDED) by the wife-and-husband team the Kilbanes (i.e., Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses). This is my third time experiencing the indie rock musical – which tells the story of the deeply devoted sisters Philomela and Procne and the overwhelming sacrifices (with a little help from the gods) they make in order to stay with each other – having first seen it in January 2019 as part of The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival; the piece was subsequently filmed during the pandemic, which I streamed during lockdown. At this point, the Kilbanes and their fellow band/cast mates know the material inside and out, which gives the current WP Theater production a cool looseness that befits its rock concert presentation. Indeed, the work fully embraces its rock ‘n’ roll DNA more than I recall (almost too much, given the unnecessarily loud sound design), its rollicking score delivered with the kind of raw intensity that you’d find at a downtown rock venue. That being said, the book by the Kilbanes is actually a nifty piece of theatrical storytelling – scrappy and efficiently plotted, the musical moves from plot point to plot point with fluidity and quicksilver confidence, especially as deftly directed by Tamilla Woodard. The performances by the multi-tasking cast are exuberantly in-the-moment, particularly Lila Blue as a soulful Philomela, Ms. Kilbane as a swaggering Procne, and Kafy Brown as the world weary yet engaged god Iris.