17/09/21 Verismo is the name of the era in which opera used lifelike subjects which, astonishingly, usually lead to murder, and in the best case to manslaughter. The American contemporary playwright Neil LaBute cultivates pure verismo in this sense, too Deep in a dark forest.
By Reinhard Kriechbaum
Deep in a dark forest one suspects nothing good anyway, even if – at least in the way director Michael Kolnberger interprets it in the studio of ARGEkultur – in this piece there is a deep kiss between brother and sister at the end. Why this happens cannot be revealed here. One would take away all the thrill that is not lacking in the seventy very exciting minutes. Just so much: You shouldn’t assume that this kiss will mean anything good for the future of both of them.
Outfitter Arthur Zgubic places Betty (Elisabeth Breckner) and Bobby (Bálint Walter) on a slowly rotating playing surface. Your world will noticeably narrow to a disk of perhaps four meters in diameter, whereas the psychological terror of the two against each other in 3D format increases threateningly.
Betty invited her brother to a hut in the woods (of which we don’t get to see anything, not even a single prop). She needs his help, there are a few things that need to be cleared away. It quickly becomes clear that brother and sister are not green to each other. She is a scientist, dean even. It is much more simply knitted. “Letter wanker” he calls contemptuously people of their own kind. “I’m your sister,” she said once, and he replied, “Is that a yardstick for anything?”
He smells a fuse. Something is wrong in the forest hut. His questions are boring, their answers a little too whitewashed. It’s a love nest, it turns out. The dark-skinned student is no longer there, of course. What has become of him? What will happen to Betty’s relationship with her husband? “We have paid off the mortgage and are mowing the lawn,” she describes her marital situation. Bobby stubbornly remains investigative – and it wouldn’t be a play by Neil LaBute, if it didn’t unfold souls that were worthy of the life’s work for half a dozen psychiatrists. At first glance, Bobby pretends to be the great moralist, while Betty seems to get further and more entangled in her own lies. But it’s not that simple.
At LaBute, the outlook on life (Republicans, Mormons) plays a role. What they consider to be incest (Bobby does not approach his sister completely unintentionally) is perhaps more loosely valued in this country, at least less prejudice. A merit of this production: Without taking the theatrical text less explosive, it does not seem US-poled at all.
It’s great how Elisabeth Breckner and Bálint Walter make the psychological hooks that these two figures hit out of the seat, so to speak, tangible. The outbursts of affect that are not lacking are always caught. These characters are characterized by high credibility. One takes the greatest horror from both of them. It is an acting theater at a high level.
Deep in a dark forest would actually be an Austrian premiere. But one speaks of a “workshop performance”. Director Michael Kolnberger clarified this in the subsequent audience discussion: It has to do with the royalties, an ÖE could not afford an independent ensemble.
Deep in a dark forest Other organizers should also make a note: The simple personnel and stage equipment made the production very flexible, even for various cultural centers in the country. The audience sits in a circle of chairs and follows the human exposure with bated breath.
Further performances on September 21 and 22. in the studio of ARGEkultur – www.argekultur.at
Photos: ARGEkultur / Piet Six
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