Phelim McDermott is a Manchester-born actor, stage director and founder of Improbable Theatre; an experimental theatre company known for their striking productions. McDermott has worked with composer Philip Glass before, when creating productions of the latter's operas. But ‘Tao Of Glass’ is a wholly original and very personal collaboration. The show combines philosophical musings; Taoism, I Ching and Arnold Mindell’s structure of consciousness, puppetry, music, autobiographical storytelling and an incredible physical energy into one frenetic performance that keeps coming back to the question ‘Where does true inspiration come from?’.
McDermott is the key actor and he gives a tour-de-force performance; the show is a stream of near unbroken consciousness and he sustains it with perfect pacing, well-judged humour and sheer force of will. He is supported on stage by puppeteers David Lemmings, Janet Etuk and Sarah Wright, and accompanied by a small ensemble - Jack McNeill (clarinet), Rakhi Singh (violin) and Katherine Tinker (piano) - playing original music by Philip Glass, who finds a very unexpected way to perform on stage with McDermott.
When considering staging in theatre, particularly touring theatre, there is a great deal of thought put into the durability of the set and props and their potential for diverse application; making a thing as useful as possible for as long as possible. Not so in ‘Tao Of Glass’, there is destruction through creation and it creates a unique and thrilling experience with its disregard for the usual economy of theatre. Also in the vein of staging, the Royal Exchange Theatre is in the round which brings its own challenges. Particularly when you are using puppetry. With traditional puppetry, theatre is long past worrying about seeing puppeteers on stage as a skilled team will disappear as the puppet comes alive with character. But ‘Tao Of Glass’ also makes use of shadow puppetry. And the challenge of staging a stationary performance in the round is difficult; everyone has to see it and should not see the strings. Improbable have designed a rotating stage to solve the former and have entirely disregarded the latter. Instead, they have made the strings worth seeing.
I wasn’t sure what to make of the show after the first act. It felt too disjointed and too meandering to be a deliberate choice, as well as not being at all what I expected. The humour was surprising and welcome, and the skill of the puppeteers was impressive but it was all just a little too odd. The second act, though, really did tie it all together. The disparate pieces of personal history, philosophy, shows not realized and music all coalesced into a beautiful, thoughtful and poetic finale. Ultimately, it is as strange and beautiful as Glass’s music itself. Melancholic and haunting sequences are followed by jarring, explosive weirdness. But all is compelling. The performance is a triumph. Achieving a genuinely surprising, innovative and original piece of theatre without ever straying into pretension.
Reviewer - Deanna Turnbull
on - 15/7/19
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