Theatre

An Alchemy of Flesh
Until May 24
This event has finished
Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John St, EC1V 4NJ
Rating:
© Robert Gooch
By Andrew Haydon

Posted: Mon May 12
‘An Alchemy of Flesh’ is constructed like a Möbius strip. It appears to wind up right back where it started, but thanks to an imperceptible twist in its construction we end up on a different side of the starting point.

Answer machine messages play into an empty room. Melinda’s lover Louis has seen her out with another man – her sister’s husband Daryl. He is outside her apartment making threats. Blackout. Susan and Daryl let themselves into Melinda’s apartment. Melinda has left the couple a suicide message recorded in that very room. The message ends with a gunshot, but there is no body in the room.

The play starts as a thriller; Susan and Daryl want to find out what happened. Daryl doesn’t want to involve the police. Something is up, but we don’t know what. Then there is a scene where Susan puts on Melinda’s jacket and gradually becomes Melinda. Clever seamless switch of time-frame and location, or is Susan really Melinda? Then Louis enters Daryl’s house goes to the off-stage bedroom and apparently shoots Daryl. He staggers downstairs and collapses, Susan returns and the man who entered as Louis seems to wake up as Daryl. Are the two playing an elaborate game or are they both subject to bewildering ‘Lost Highway’-style transformations? The answer is never made clear. Julio Maria Martino’s production offers a spirited, if incredibly dimly lit, stab at David Hauptschein’s intriguing play. Whether or not it succeeds depends largely on one’s taste for the opaque.

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7 comments

Posted by jacqui & piero on 20 May 2008 23:44
The reviewer is clearly on crack. The sin of giving away the plot is forgiveable only when it brings something to the character of the play and ultimately promotes it. It is the sin of a reviewer besotted by a script and therefore forgiveable. Sadly, this reviewer patently has little appreciation for what we thought was an outstanding piece of theatre. Not only is the plot revealed but little is said of the splendid acting and gripping tension that characterises the piece. That the play is opaque is surely the point. Shame on you Timeout.

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Posted by Sally Frank on 15 May 2008 03:37
Wow, I can't believe how lucky I am that I saw An Alchemy of Flesh before I read the Time Out review! It gave away the plot, and didn't mention how great the acting was. The play didn't seem all that opaque to me. On the contrary, I was on the edge of my seat for most of the show.

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Posted by Anthony Bilotti on 13 May 2008 22:14
The play had me constantly wondering where the twists and turns would lead the two/four characters It's what good drama is supposed to be and the actors rose to the occasion. I would gladly see it again. Why such a low rating?

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Posted by jamie palmer on 13 May 2008 18:26
A good while since I've seen a play (fringe or otherwise) of such gripping originality, imagination and daring. David Hauptschein's mind-bending identity thriller-cum-psychodrama is highly recommended to everyone but will be of particular interest to fans of Lynch, Hitchcock, Bunuel and Philip K Dick.
I'm slightly puzzled, however, as to why your reviewer felt it necessary to detaIl quite so much of the plot - particularly since he makes the narrative appear far more convoluted on paper than it seemed when unfolding under the power of its own twisted logic in the theatre.

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Posted by David Trevelyan on 13 May 2008 00:15
Watched it a couple of nights ago - for a fringe show it was actually pretty amazing. It's a weird, disturbing play, and may not appeal to everyone, but I personally loved it. And the performances are of an incredibly high standard throughout.
Very highly recommended.

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Posted by Peter Lambert on 13 May 2008 00:01
Excellent production. why only three stars?

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Posted by Tiffany Ross on 11 May 2008 18:36
A stunning example of fearless theatre. A must see for anyone bored with the ordinary westend fare.

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