Gothic Beauty

Dwan in Footfalls and Rockaby

After the technical difficulties of the first false start, the show seemed to go off without a hitch. The shows, three of Beckett's shorts: Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby, were performed in sequence with just a quick 3 minute break between each for costume changes and mental resets.

The first show, Not I, is Beckett's least performed piece. It's 24 minutes of dialogue supposed to be said as quickly as thoughts occur. Lisa Dwan performs this show in 8.5 minutes. Completely still with a tiny spotlight on the only non-blacked out part of her face: her mouth. She speaks so impossibly fast that as an audience member, your brain is unable to keep up. Luckily, a large portion of the monologue is repeated numerous times, so you can pick up new things each time. This show is supposed to be practically unmemorizable at its original 24 minute length. And yet, Dwan somehow spews it all out in less than 10 minutes. Insane. It's a feat of brilliance, but I have to admit, my brain was happy when it ended. It was a mental obstacle course to try to follow the stream-of-consciousness ramblings coming out of the dark.

The next show, Footfalls, is the longest one in the trilogy. And is also presented almost completely in the dark. Dwan wears a white dress and, one assumes, heels to allow her steps to be heard as she paces the stage (which also might be mic'd to amplify her--wait for it--footfalls--you're welcome). The show seemed to be about mother/daughter relationships (both characters played by Dwan, of course), but being Beckett, I might have missed some deeper meaning... It felt super Gothic. Actually, both this piece and the last piece would definitely have received Poe's stamp of approval. The only time the lights turned up was when she was stopped and having a dialogue between one of the mothers and daughters, otherwise it was a very low-light. More than the first show, obviously, but not by much.

In the final piece, Rockaby, Dwan sat in a rocking chair moving into and out of the spotlight. No matter where she rocked, her hands, lightly resting on the armrests, were lit, but her face only came into the light when she rocked forward. Most of the show was performed via a recorded voice over (Dwan, of course), that her onstage character only added to at very precise moments. The show was about an old woman, starring out her window and rocking, only seeing other windows, all with their blinds drawn. She seems to be waiting to die, but hoping her view will change before she does. The show concludes with her head gently lolling to the side.

The imagery and use of light and dark in this triptych was absolutely mesmerizing. It's amazing how quickly our eyes can adjust to a very small amount of light. Even though Jess and I were seated way in the back of the theater, I could see her facial expressions and her mouth movements no problem. In fact, both of us commented on how bright the house lights were when they went up after the conclusion of the show. And the lobby lights? Yuck. How cool though. Glad I got to see these pieces! Glad Jess thought of me to be her theater date!