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‘IT'S LIKE WHAT PEOPLE HAD TO DEAL WITH WHEN THEY FIRST SAW A POLLOCK 0R KANDINSKY'
we do‘. the decision to meld such disparate artworks was informed by logic as well as a playful sense of adventure. The cotmection between lu Hit/(me and l’lunel oft/1v tam/um might not be obvious. btit she sees them as the work of two Italian artists 3le years apart. both with an interest in a male journey into the unknown. If her work has meaning. however. it arises not front the director‘s pre—determined vision. but in the tninds of an audience when these two unlikely bedfellow s cotne together. ‘My pleasure is not to know what‘s going to
happen.‘ says l.e('ompte. a former partner of
Willem Dafoe and collalmrator with the late Spalding (iray. ‘When you have a lot of time to work and you're not worried about making it mean something. thittgs emerge. If you have an idea you see it in everything.‘
Sitting loyally by l.e(‘ompte‘s side before the start of afternoon rehearsals. \alk is a founding member of the ensemble and the star of shows including 1.5!) t. . . Just the High Points . . .t. l’nmk Dell's 'l'ln' 'Ii'm/tmlion (MS! .‘lnlouv. Bruce l’p.’ and Huttve/IJg/tls. all of which have been seen at (ilasgow‘s 'I‘ramway. .-\ppearing in a vibrant red wig and high—necked space suit in I41 Hit/one. she explains that the show 's meaning is not pre-ordained but something that emerges from the [x‘rformance
‘lt reverlk'rates on so many levels.‘ says Valk. "l‘he two things are speaking against each other. As a tx‘rformer. I find the lines from the film are taking on more and more layers of meaning between the two stories. between the two times. between film and opera. It's all about creation. destruction and how you make work. It's about itself and about the two very specific stories at the same time.’
\ .. s
.o. THE WOOSTER 0% s ‘ L A 1 - .
DIDONE;
So. although most people would find it peculiar to mis a cult B-movie with an opera from the formative days of the genre. on Planet \Voostcr it makes a kind of sense. “When we asked our dramaturg to suggest a sci—fi film about space travel he immediately said 'li'rmn' IIt'l/U spun'u.‘ says Valk. ‘Iiverything about it. the style of performance. the look. the camera. the way it was edited. everything was right.”
.-\|ways hungry for new challenges. Valk welcomes the chance to expand the company‘s repertoire into the world of classical opera. The collaboration is. however. very much on the \Vooster (irotlpis own terms. "I‘his is the first time w e‘ve worked with so many new Professional musicians frotn outside of the company] she say s. There are eight new people. which is a lot to bring in to our way of working. but we were really lucky.’
Although you can spot a I.e('ompte show immediately from the spare. modernist staging. the clever blending of the live and the recorded.
Festival Theatre
and the unexpected clash of styles. Valk' insists they make no attempt to impose a Wooster (iroup stamp on a show. Rather. the characteristic qualities we find in In Dir/(me are
a result of 30 years labour at the forefront of
avant garde theatre.
‘l.i/ |I.e(‘ompte| works in the way she works.‘ says Valk. ‘We‘ve been developing the methods we employ over such a period of time. There‘s
no other choice. 'I’hat's the only point of
reference. But we're so open to what the musicians and singers do and they came with such a wealth of stuff that it was great to luxuriate in their contribution. It made our whole process dilate: like if you have a microscope and a strip with a drop and you add a drop of something else. Instead of a move forward. it‘s a dilation. But the new drop is huge: the biggest yet.‘
Royal Lyceum Theatre, 473 2000, 18-22 Aug (not 20), 8pm, £10-£30.
16—23 Aug 2007 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 59