Theatre / Reviews
Review: The Wall, Tobacco Factory Theatres – ‘Thought-provoking and thrillingly experimental’
Funded by The British Council, co-produced by Tobacco Factory Theatres and Fundación Teatro de La Abadia Madrid, and led by UK-based Spanish political theatre maker Juan Ayala – with core teams in Bristol and Madrid and collaborating artists in a further seven countries – The Wall is an undoubtedly ambitious endeavour.
Different every night, it features an unscripted conversation between two people from different continents who have never met, communicating through a video call that is interpreted by four heroic actor/interpreters in the room – Axenia Raulet, Lena Lapres, Yasmeen Audisho Ghrawi, and Lindsey Garwood.
We are first introduced to Mohakalled, an Iraqi theatre maker who was working in Berlin at the outset of the Iraq War, and was advised by his mother not to return to his home country – choosing instead to settle in Belgium, where he has lived for 13 years.
is needed now More than ever
Then, from El Salvador, we meet Magda Henriquez, who attempts to show us around the building where she runs an all-female theatre company.
Together, they share fascinating fragments of their respective stories and ask questions of one another; Mohakalled escaped war, whereas Henriquez is living in a dangerous environment corrupted by warring drug gangs.
As Ayala makes clear in the Director’s note, the borders at play here are simultaneously linguistic, cultural, geographical and technological. “And the conversation crosses them, not without difficulty,” he warns.
It’s a complexity that may never have seemed surmountable, yet three of those barriers are indeed, to an extent, overcome.
But the fourth comes very close to ruining the party for everyone. The eventual failure of Henriquez’ internet connection, glitchy at best, causes Egly Larreynaga to step in from Madrid, where she has offered direction and dramaturgy for the production.
It might seem churlish to mention failing tech, but I do so only because it feels apposite to the themes underpinning this admirable theatrical experiment; it’s neatly demonstrable of the schisms that so often can confound and separate us, when in fact, our shared humanity overpowers them all.
We are reminded of so much that transcends division; the power of memory, photographs, smell and taste, to connect us to one another.
Due to a lack of travel documentation, Mohakhalled was denied a chance to attend his own father’s funeral, in Syria. But he reflects that he still sees his father as still living, in his own soul. Even in the separation between life, and death, there is an unassailable bond.
Tech gremlins aside, there is still a more finessed theatrical experience to be found here. But even so, it’s a riveting and thought-provoking live encounter and an intriguing example of multi-country collaboration.
The Wall (age recommendation 14+) is at Tobacco Factory Theatres from 22-24 February at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com.
All photos: Craig Fuller
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