Directed by the controversial Dave Barton, Attempts on Her Life makes its local premiere this month. Jo Caruana finds out more about one of this season’s hard-hitting pieces.
Sometimes it’s fantastic to step outside the realms of what we know will work. While comedy may be the order of the season, Unifaun Theatre is once again proving its individuality by staging something completely different – a physical theatre piece that promises to be completely different from anything most audience members will have seen before.
Physical theatre has proved popular in the past. Other companies such as Theatre Anon, Du Theatre and Aleatea all created spectacular work, although there has been less of it in recent years.
“Physical theatre is unlike any other theatre,” says producer Adrian Buckle, the man behind Unifaun Theatre. “It is emotionally pumped and packed full of adrenaline. Yes, it’s telling a story just like conventional theatre, but it does so through movement and dance, reaching out to audiences in new ways.”
Attempts on Her Life, which is part of Spazju Kreattiv’s new season, promises to be quite a revolution in theatre. It doesn’t have a definite storyline and there are no set characters.
“It’s a bit like a blank verse that the director and actors need to fill,” says Adrian, explaining that he got the idea for the play while watching the London-based physical theatre specialists DV8 in their production of John.
“I was so taken by the physicality of that performance that I wanted to do something similar,” he says. “So, in a way, this is a new start for Unifaun and who knows where it will lead us?”
It’s a bit like a blank verse that the director and actors need to fill
While Adrian is quick to stress that he is not comparing this production to DV8’s work, he is hoping to create something that does resemble it. “I would be absolutely delighted if we achieved that,” he says. “They are the masters.”
That is the primary reason why Adrian employed maverick Californian director Dave Barton to lead this piece. Barton has worked here before on the controversial production of Sarah Kane’s Blasted several years ago. Now he is combining his talents with that of choreographer Sandra Mifsud, who has been focused on developing the innate physicality of the show.
“The focus is on modern day obsessions such as terrorism, war, pornography, immigration and ethnic cleansing, so it is very relevant. It’s also a feminist piece and that is a topic that I have been wanting to tackle for some time now.”
While the piece does have its own poetic text, the majority of it is reflected and reverberated through movement. It is presented in a series of 17 scenarios, all of which provide information about the elusive character Anne.
“The script reminds me of an article I once read about how the Israeli government ordered its troops to shoot female terrorists first, largely because the women were believed to be more focused than the men. In a way, this is addressed in Attempts on Her Life, as it shows women to be as strong and equal as men, just as it should be.”
The show presents a number of up-and-coming performers, including movement specialist Marie Keiser-Neilsen, Ruth Borg, Antonella Mifsoode, Mariele Zammit, Timmy Paris and Vladislav Ilich as well as established names Lizzie Eldrige, Philip Leone-Ganado and Bettina Paris.
And for Timmy, this is actually his first professional experience on stage.
“There’s a lot that drew me to this play,” says the young actor. “The timing, the script, the ensemble aspect, the physicality and the obscurity. Although the text itself is rather disjointed and strange, the underlying themes are very relevant and consistent. Even now, this far into the process, I still feel as though as I am discovering new things about it,” he says.
Attempts on Her Life runs on October 30 and 31 and November 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 14 at 8pm at St James Cavalier, Valletta. Tickets are available by calling on 2122 3200 or online.
www.unifauntheatre.com