Review: The baffling How A Man Crumbled, Mimetic Festival at the Vaults
21/11/2014
I have left a play at the curtain none the wiser of its point or meaning but the journey was so enjoyable it didn't matter. I wish I could say the same about How A Man Crumbled.
It is definitely skillfully done and the cast of three are talented mime artists and physical performers but all that is a moot point if there is little connection with what is going on in front of you. There is a sort of story about a writer trying to find inspiration but the narrative is constantly interrupted by random and often surreal interludes.
These utilise silent movie style captions and performances, mime and physical 'interpretation' for want of a better description. There is something going on with a dead, old woman's body, the story of a man with red hair who has no head, some slightly sinister and borderline violent sexual advances and fights involving vegetables. Two people in the audience thought it was all hilarious.
The scene where the writer tries to stuff the old woman's body in a suitcase was brilliantly done and I was impressed with the explosive power of leek when used as a weapon but other than that I'm struggling to remember anything enjoyable or engaging. As a result its 55 minutes running time dragged its heels. Not one for me but I'm sure other opinions are available.
How A Man Crumbled is part of the Mimetic Festival at The Vaults and is on until Nov 22.