Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – UNDER THE RADAR: Reviews, Batch 2

• By drediman
• January 17, 2020
• No Comments

Happily, my week proceeded with continued Under the Radar immersion. Here is my second batch of reviews.

Jess Thom in Touretteshero and Battersea Arts Centre’s production of “Not I” by Samuel Beckett at Under the Radar.

NOT I
Touretteshero & Battersea Arts Centre (U.K.)

On paper, staging Samuel Beckett’s Not I as a standalone, “evening-length” performance seems like a strange idea. That’s because, in its entirety, the piece runs only approximately 10 minutes (typically, it’s accompanied by several other short works). But as a vehicle for the defiant and exuberantly uncompromising Jess Thom, a performer with Tourettes, it proves to be an exhilarating ride. Granted, the show’s running time is augmented by a short film about Ms. Thom and her involvement with the production, as well as a short communal talk-back. In essence, Not I basks in words disassociated from their meanings – after all, the play is performed by a disembodied mouth – which means that Ms. Thom’s insistent tics (“biscuit!”) have a natural home within the context of the work. It was a unique pleasure to see a piece of theater — particularly in this production’s relaxed setting — and a performer so mutually and whole-heartedly embrace each other’s idiosyncracies.

RECOMMENDED

Wataru Kitao in Sugar Yamamoto’s “The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood” at Under the Radar.

THE UNKNOWN DANCER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Suguru Yamamoto (Japan)

One of the biggest surprises thus far for me at Under the Radar has been director-choreographer Suguru Yamamoto’s solo dance theater piece entitled The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood, which just concluded its run at Japan Society. In short, it’s a stunner. Basically, the work is an unsettling meditation on urban living. With poetic efficiency yet cosmic expansiveness, the piece captures all the loneliness, thrill, and danger of large city dwelling. The work is performed by Wataru Kitao, who is sensational as the production’s elusive but seductive shape-shifting conduit. Mr. Kitao moves with grace and precision, and emotes with both delicacy and reckless abandon as called for. I was totally mesmerized by his performance. I can’t wait to see what’s next for both these utterly exciting artists.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ahamefule J. Oluo and his big band in “Susan” at Under the Radar.

SUSAN
Ahamefule J. Oluo (U.S.A.)

Then back at the Public, I caught Ahamefule J. Oluo’s big band jazz-infused memoir Susan. I had caught Mr. Oluo’s work at a previous edition of Under the Radar (Now I’m Fine in 2016), and I recall being beguiled by his hybrid approach to theater-making. His latest is a stealthy but lovingly crafted tribute to his mother – the titular Susan – a single mom who was abandoned by her Nigerian husband shortly after our host was born. Mr. Oluo possesses a likeable, somewhat self-effacing stage presence, and he seems most at home when soulfully expressing his story through music (Mr. Oluo is a tremendous trumpet player; he also penned the show’s excellent musical compositions). Indeed, he and his top-notch band wouldn’t be out of place at some of the city’s premiere jazz clubs; they’re that good. The show concludes with a gorgeous surprise that I don’t want to spoil for you.

RECOMMENDED

Khalifa Natour (left) leads”Grey Rock” by Amir Nizar Zuabi at Under the Radar.

GREY ROCK
Amir Nizar Zuabi (Palestine)

I also had the opportunity to take in a second viewing of Amir Nizar Zuabi’s play Grey Rock (I had seen essentially the same staging about a year ago just a few blocks away at La MaMa). Unfortunately, my thoughts about the play – which tells the story of an aging Palestinian widower and his endeavor to build a moon-bound spacecraft – haven’t changed. The script is burdened with a heavy-handedness that resorts to telegraphed, sitcom-ish writing that one would expect from someone new to playwriting (perhaps the play would come off better performed in Arabic?). Although its intentions are admirable and its premise fascinating, Grey Rock ends up being both predictable and two-dimensional, both in terms of plot and character development. Not helping matters much is the overwrought work of the cast, despite the valiant efforts of magnetic leading man Khalifa Natour, whose performance is laced with a number of genuinely affecting moments.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

UNDER THE RADAR
Off-Broadway, Multi-disciplinary Experimental Theater Festival
The Public Theater
Through January 20