WHITE NOISE
Twisted by Design · Ottawa, Canada
by Margaret Evraire, Christina Bryson
Drama
Based on the true local tragedy of Carleton student Nadia Kajouji, this collaborative piece is an exploration of the last moments of a fragile young woman’s journey toward taking her own life, and the Internet ‘friendship’ that led her to do so…
Tickets are 2 for 1 on opening night.
Deal is only available at the venue, not for advance tickets.
Reviewed by Alvina Ruprecht
(……)
I liked the way the shadows are created behind the curtains,; I liked the arms and hands that slither over the edge of the screens to suggest sinister advances and disturbing presences. What worked less well was the actual acrobatics of the Three Fates who did not appear to be dancers, but perhaps acrobats and who were strong enough to lift and swing the girls to symbolize the plunge into death. However, those movements, appeared to be awkward at times and they distracted from the meaning of the whole piece. They had to be seamless and flowing so that our minds were focussed on the young girls suicide process and not on the fact that the movement was not quite as clean as it might have been.
At a certain point begins the encounter with the computer. A seductive voice off speaks to one of the girls and there begins the call as she is drawn in and encouraged to prepare for her death. She appears to enter a site of light and beauty, a place where she feels she belongs. Visually, those moments were very effective.
The rest was all done as vocal exchange through the computer. The interaction between the corporeal moments and the vocal moments was well thought out but the “dancers” were not always in control of their bodies and that was too bad because the idea was very good indeed. Announcing the fate of the predator at the end was completely out of character with the play which did not focus at all on the external events but on the mindset of the sick girl so it appeared stuck on at the end to “finish” the story.
White Noise needs a lot more work. It is an important performance that should be seen by as many people as possible but even though the mind set of this young woman is made very clear, the weakness of portions of the performance is often distracting and that is too bad.
White Noise plays at Academic Hall.
Very “teen angst” and a little too obvious and typical. Some cool physicality but nothing special or challenging.
Apartment613 (apt613.ca) is reviewing all the fringe plays at FullyFringed.ca! You can check out our review of White Noise here:
http://www.fullyfringed.ca/?p=1347