OneTouch Theatre, Eden Court, 14 September 2008

Amada (Niall Walker)

MARIA, accidentally brain-damaged as a child, is married to a much older man, becomes a mother, is widowed, loses her son, is consoled and then abandoned by a Greek sailor and eventually dies in a brothel.

This relentlessly tragic life was magically transformed into a joyfully uplifting experience by multitalented musician and actress-turned-director Cora Bissett, who has created a little gem of a play from the bare bones of a short story, “Simple Maria” by Chilean author Isabel Allende.

Bissett wove a colourful, intensely sensual tapestry of life in South America using only three actors, two musicians, and the bare minimum of props and staging, augmented by back projected silhouettes and puppetry.

Basque actress Itxaso Moreno very movingly evoked Maria from childhood to frail old age, imbuing the rag doll baby and child with so much life that its “death” seared the heart. Alia Alzougbi and Richard Pyros played four parts each so effectively that when the play ended and they took their well-deserved curtain call, it came as a slight shock to see only three actors – surely there had been more?

This is the real magic of theatre, when purely by acting and movement a company transports an audience to another place and conjures vivid, almost cinematic scenes without lavish props, costumes or sets.

This transformational alchemy was greatly enhanced by the enchantingly authentic, atmospheric voice of (Basque) singer Nerea Bello and the unselfish, equally atmospheric guitar work of Chilean guitarist Galvarino Ceron-Carrasco. Both musicians sat at the side of the stage and occasionally narrated, moved props, or provided additional sound effects.

It was a pity that none of those who begrudge the cost of Eden Court’s modernisation were to be seen in the audience for Amada. Plays like this will never make programming sense in the Empire Theatre, so without the addition of the OneTouch Theatre, we would have missed an evening of enduringly memorable theatre.

© Jennie Macfie, 2008

Links

• Eden Court Theatre
• Cora Bissett on MySpace