Before you even take your seats, your eyes can’t tear away from the girl (playwright Vyte Garriga) sitting on the park bench, slowly folding paper swans. There’s a small smile on her face with each one she finishes, holding them up before discarding it and moving on to the next. And that’s how the guard (Daniel Chrisostomou) finds her, again and again.
Articulating the thoughts of most of the audience, he asks why she’s doing what she’s doing. And in doing so, locks the two of them into a quest for meaning, the meaning of meaning, and whatever lies beyond that. Being drawn into a time loop isn’t a new premise in media, but Vyte’s take on it is arresting, starting with slight differences and growing exponentially into a fiery crescendo.
The play is a textbook example of the theatre of the absurd, throwing out the usual rules of theatre to contemplate on the structures we all conform to, the safety they bring us, and what happens when one is confronted with something that doesn’t quite fit. The latter may as well describe the audience, with some parts of the play coming off as exaggerated or even pretentious, but the brilliant and equally exaggerated performances of both the leads keep us glued to our seats.
To summarise an interview with Vyte by Hinton Magazine, theatre of the absurd should be funny – it’s about the feelings it evokes, and that’s different for every person every day.
The staging is plain but effective, drawing your eyes to the changes in each loop. There’s sparse music throughout, trills ringing out at key moments and background pieces raising the intensity as the performers dive deeper into their heads, the empty park, or wherever their journey happens takes them.
Paper Swans is full of sharp turns and unexpected detours, but it’s a journey well worth strapping in for. The show runs at the Pleasance Courtyard until 25th August - for more information and tickets, you can follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
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