Revu Completely Bloody Incoherent
“Completely Bloody Incoherent” Poster
Why theatre? Why sit in a dark room and watch strangers perform an invented story on a limited space, in a limited time? Are we escaping from the mess of our lives, are we looking for the truth? Completely bloody incoherent by Sasha Ranawake asks what the stage can offer and, equally, what it can take away.
The play is an interesting mixture of a kitchen sink drama and a metatheatrical ride. Successful playwright Dahlia (Hope Healy) starts dating not-so-successful performer Luke (Ollie Gillam). The actors have captured well the essence of their characters, frustratingly restrained and competent Dahlia and more earnest yet insecure Luke. The play dissects their growing (or collapsing?) love, between intimate moments, reflection on the nature of theatre, and the script of Dahlia’s new play. The catch? Without giving too many spoilers, script and reality may be more intertwined than expected.
This production exploits all the textbook tricks of metadrama: from a stage design littered with script drafts, to hilarious scenes of drama rehearsals and constant textual allusions to the venue (the play often interrogates why audiences sit in a black box, which is exactly the design of the Michael Pilch). Lights changes and a minimal sound design reinforce well the uncanny feeling of watching a performance inside a performance. There’s even a not-so-restrained jab to Brechtian fourth wall breaks. Although the Oscar goes to a frankly hilarious scene featuring an actor rehearsing lines from Inception, in many ways the perfect foil for this play: a complex work of meta-art dealing with everyday emotions of love and loss.
“Completely Bloody Incoherent”
The script is at its best when it both dives into the fascination of words and calls out the idiosyncrasies of the theatre world. It’s hard not to laugh at an increasingly demanding Dahlia asking her actors, played by Coco Scanlon and Seb Foster, to dress all black, wear blindfolds, and stop moving their hands while they speak.
But for everyone ever involved in theatre it’s a self-aware laugh. Scanlon and Foster are a fun pair, mixing a passionate attitude with a growing disorientation at the playwright’s commands.
The emotional search of the play, while still captivating, doesn’t always feel as developed. I wanted to know more: Luke’s unsupportive parents, Dahlia’s mystery of a grandmother, even glimpses into the life of actor 1 and 2. In some ways, this feels intentional: Completely Bloody Incoherent sets life aside just as Dahlia sets aside her life to focus on the stage. The actors themselves seem more at ease with metatheatrical excess than with the subtle tones of everyday communication. At times, I found myself wishing for Dahlia’s composure to crack more openly or for Luke to be openly unlikeable.
“Completely Bloody Incoherent”
Completely Bloody Incoherent is refreshingly ambitious in its first half, interrogating art, life, love, and how they do or don’t mix, with a nice gender reversal of the obsessed artist trope: the female protagonist is the overtly intellectual artist, and the male protagonist is the grounding element. The conclusion wraps everything up neatly – maybe a little too neatly. I left the theatre thinking that in the last section, a few subtle notes got lost. Something about Dahlia: how rarely we get to see women obsessed with their art, and how much more easily they get branded as escapist, emotionless, or tyrannical when they are. Or something about Luke: how deep the heartbreak of artistic rejection can be, and how easy it is to pour bitterness on a partner. Or something about theatre: the metatheatrical bits are so fun, it’s hard to let them go easily.
Yet, yet, yet. Maybe your humble reviewer is just feeling a little called out. You may disagree with my reading and find in the ending an overdue moment of emotional awareness, complete with its own theatrical Chekov’s gun. Regardless, Completely Bloody Incoherent makes for an entertaining evening. If you want a fun time in a black box, give this one a try.
3/5 Stars
“Completely Bloody Incoherent”
Review by Jude Parrotta
