Leviathan
"What
is it, what nameless, inscrutable, unearthy thing is it; that
against all natural lovings and longings, I so keep pushing,
and crowding, and jamming myself on all the time, recklessly
making me ready to do what in my own proper, natural heart, I
durst not so much as dare?" Moby
Dick (by Herman Melville)
Leviathan is The Solvents award-winning adaptation
of Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick'. It is an epic journey told in various
languages, sounds and modes of performance ranging from physical theatre,
choreographed and abstracted movement, to traditional acting, multimedia,
puppet theatre and the manipulation of gigantic props.
The
audience is invited on a journey to sea, on a quest for the Leviathan.The
members of the journey all have their reasons to leave earth behind.
They project their dreams into the journey, and their problems into
the whale they want to eradicate.
Leviathan attempts to open the eyes in the back of the spectators, who
have to follow the performers through the room to follow the tale of Moby
Dick.
In this Theatre In the Round spectacle, they get addressed like ship mates,
get wet, get covered by a gigantic sail, go on all fours and come out with
the taste of salt on their lips.
The piece explores the mechanisms of sliping into gradual states of awareness and surrendering one's ability to decide consciously about one's behaviour.
See how
Leviathan stage was built in Scarborough at NSDF
2006 in just 2 days!
Regards to the excellent tech team!
Directed by Klaus
Kruse (Germany)
Co-Devised and Performed by the multinational cast: Bosworth Acres-Debenham
(UK), Celine Smith (France), Coreo Balfour
(France), Daniela d'Emilia (Italy/Brasil), Dimitry
Paranyushkin (Russia), Rhiannon Chaloner
(UK), and Uta Baldauf (Germany).
Premiere: 3 June 2005, Dartington,
UK (for next performance, see Touring
Dates)
Photo
by Kate
Mount © 2005
Awards: Leviathan won the National Student Drama Festival
06 award for Soundscape and Klaus Kruse won the Directors'
Guild Award.
Reviews:
"In the Solvents' Leviathan every moment is a surprise
as the entire theatre space, including the audience is submerged and
physically caught
in the tale of Ahab's passionate search. The space becomes the ship,
the sea, the inside of the whale with shifts in dimension and focus,
the company skillfully employing the magic that only can happen in the
theatre. I can honestly say that this was one of the most exciting
times I've had in the theatre for a long while. And in the end they had
me literally crawling out on my knees and wanting more."
"Innovative scenography, skillful ensemble work and energised performances are
used to great effect. Leviathan succeeds in bringing its
audience into 'the very belly of the whale'."
'The Solvents' work draws on a variety of approaches
and forms to create energised and exciting events of physical theatre.
'Leviathan', in particular, is marked by a scenographic inventiveness
(in which spectatorial positions are reconfigured with great fluidity
to offer a variety of perspectives, as in a Cubist painting), a physical
commitment, dexterity and detail, an engagement with diverse modes
and languages of performance
(physical theatre, dance, music, puppetry, storytelling), and an elaboration
of dynamic imagery. "
"A ghostly replay of themes from Melville’s Moby Dick supplied the disjointed material for Leviathan, by Dartington’s Solvents Theatre Company. Klaus Kruse won the Directors’ Guild Award for leading the creation of a poetic event of visual and aural beauty that enlisted the audience as participants, and subjected them to some of the deprivations experienced by Ahab’s crew.”"
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