Crew and Creatives
Performers and text: Mimmi Bauer, Pat Dynowska, Michał Szpak Scenography: Helen Hebert Musical composition: Jack Foran Dramaturgy and light design: Theodor Spiridon
Theatre
Usually when reviewing performances one would start with the story, characters and how it made one feel. Fruits is an episodic, seemingly random collection of experiences loosely based on themes of love. There are too many characters, most of which we only see once, for this to be a character driven performance and as stated above the plot's existence is subjective. So the only way to summarise this piece is through feelings; it made me uncomfortable, it made me laugh, it felt intimate, I felt the sadness when the character were chasing and failing their goals. TAKDAJA said that this piece was made with an action based mindset rather than one focusing on characters or plot.
The small black box theatre space is enclosed. The strategically placed crated worked well with the constantly changing scenes and as a good hiding spot for the seemingly never ending props. The crates in the back are stacked up to create a transparent wall that the audience can see through.
The whole piece is self aware, explicitly stating there is no beginning, interval or ending, the stereotypes conveyed in media such as the eastern-European cleaner being highly satirised, an "internal monologue" which is literally internal - the actress mimes what she is thinking. It embraces that none of the scenes connect in a sensical way and the audience will not interpret it in the intended way so they don't force an intention.
The actors interact with the audience throughout the piece making the whole thing become an experience. The audience is directly addressed, there is intense eye contact between you and the actors, some audience members get offered food or have to hold things for the performers, the actors perform behind you so you have to turn to face them, walk down the stairs past you to get onto the main stage. You become so invested in the journey they take you on you don't want it to end.
After speaking to TAKDAJA I realised that every performance is different so it wouldn't make much sense for me to break down the piece scene by scene. The company said that each performance is a response to the space and is different depending on the location. They all wrote parts of the script, some indented for themselves and some for other members of the team, and select what they want to present when they get to the space with some scenes that were made for the VAULT festival venue being cut when at the Rosemary bush theatre as they didn't feel they worked.
Nevertheless one of my favourite segments has to be the fruit fly monologue. Michał Szpak embodying the small creature using eccentric movements and small wings. He discusses his job as a science experiment but his desire has always been to be a butterfly. He eats a smashes watermelon from the floor from an earlier scene. The monologue dives into how sex crazy the fly is which get interrupted every once in a while, forgetting what he was previously talking about. It was a different approach to showing the inner fight between our goals and desires and what our instincts and environment want us to do.
When speaking to Theodor Spiridon he said his intention was for the "audience to drift away" and enjoy the encounter the actors are presenting them with. We talked in depth about the abstract nature of the play and he wanted everyone to "connect things [based on their own experience]" and always questioning "what past motions did [the piece] evoke in [them]?". Mimmi Bauer adding that "beauty [is] in understanding in your own way".
Overall this is an ambitious and incredibly executed experience. TAKDAJA is pushing the boundaries of what theatre can be. I can not recommend it enough, especially if you love contemporary work.
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