Captivating set of brief encounters
look in his eyes as he sits, held there by some sense of guilt or fate that is stronger than prison bars.
In this version of the story by Peter Brook and his collaborator Marie-hélène Estienne, the perspective shifts so that the audience learns almost immediately what his story is and what crime he committed.
It is a peculiarly shocking one, committed under shocking circumstances; and it is questionable whether a director of a younger generation would have chosen to tangle with a story which actually implies a consensual sexual relationship between a 13-year-old girl and her father.
Yet for reasons that soon become clear, the man cannot believe in himself as a righteous avenger of the girl’s abuse; in Hiran Abeysekera’s beautiful central performance, we see him, over the years, feel his way towards a resolution, through his interactions – often random, but somehow meaningful – with local people, visitors, passers-by. And the whole show, at a brief 70 minutes, achieves a magnificent balance of stillness, relaxation and narrative tension; compelling us to pause, to breathe and to reflect, but also moving the story towards its end with the inevitability and energy of a natural force, harnessed by an absolute master.
JOYCE MCMILLAN
Until 26 August. Tonight 7:30pm..