Kate O’Flynn stars in this puzzling show featuring three plays in one, exploring the oddities of our own existence through new unusual points of view. Guillermo Nazara shares his thoughts on this production running at the Royal Court Theatre for a strictly limited period, to tell us all about a montage that, regardless in which way, certainly no one will forget.
You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked… I could just rip a page from Kafka’s words and pass it as my own for this review. And it would work. I may be sued for millions on account of plagiarism, but it would be worth it… However, there’s a reason why I became a professional critic (well, apart from being a cheap bastard that never wants to pay for a ticket). So I will make an effort and use my own writing to describe what I experienced at the Royal Court last weekend. That is… if I’m capable of…
Even as of today, I’m still not sure of what I’ve seen. And yet, for some strange reason, I’m amazed by it. Haunted but captivated. Confused but reassured. There’s hardly a storyline. Or at least, not a plot that’s worthy of more than a short sentence to summarize it. What is it about? A woman. Or three. Yes, but what do they do? Nothing. They just are. They just live. There’s nothing extravagant about them. Nothing that would make their existence any more enticing than yours or mine (well, duh…). But that’s beauty of it. The most arbitrary thoughts soaring over without any apparent purpose, but actually performing an intricate examination on the absurdity of our own essence.
There’s no question about the philosophical value of the piece. Not only regarding its themes, but also its patterns. Moments like the lead character hallucinating over her state of existence hide the platonic conception of body and soul, but also exude the stylistic devices of The Metamorphosis. There are moments of complete foolishness. But that’s what makes it, to some point, rather clever. Life is a farce. Or that’s what we’re supposed to understand. Too many things don’t make sense, we just give it to them because we’re expected to. Because that’s the way it is. And usually (perhaps too often) we are unable, or maybe just don’t want, to question it.
Skillfully performed by Kate O’Flynn and featuring an eerily mesmerizing design by Merlen Hensel, All of It is a daring experiment that’s exploded as a result. But fortunately, into a blast of memorable emotions. Its adventurous writing and occasionally profound perspectives create a rich harmony of form and content – leading to a montage that, love it or hate it, you’ll have the urge to talk about. It may have depicted the dullest of lives, but it’s cooked a more than flavorful show.
All pictures credit to Manuel Harlan.
All of It plays at London’s Royal Court Theatre until 17 June. Tickets are available on the following link.