LTT Review: Cicadas.

by Jen Aitken | 3:26 pm 11/07/2010

Written by Rick Han Performed by Simon O’Connor Co-directed by Clare Adams and Hilary Halba (5/5)

As a reviewer, I feel responsible to respond to this show with the same poetic quality that Theatre Studies student Rick Han presents in his script. This, however, is an unattainable perfection. Han’s writing emanates honesty, truth and pain, indicating a maturity far beyond his years. I am astonished that this script came from the mind of someone so young.

This production was enchanting. O’Connor’s masterful delivery pulled us into Han’s world. His naturally confident but quiveringly vulnerable vocal qualities honoured the script to the utmost extent possible. Physically, O’Connor mesmerised the audience with a stillness that exalted the quality of the words spoken. 

The design of this show, done with an intuition I have come to expect from Martyn Roberts, allocated subtle lighting effects and changes that also complemented Han’s script. The highlight for me was the image of O’Connor replicated through live feed. I did not favour one perspective over the other, happily allowing the view of one to punctuate its partner. I was engrossed by the smallest intricacies that the filmed image picked up on: lips trembling, tears forming, eyes twinkling. The composition of this was also striking, with O’Connor placed in a very loose ‘V’ with the screen – the two images of him presented in conversation with each other; i.e himself

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