T.I.M.E. / MEDEA MATERIAAL

T.I.M.E. (this is music-theater education) is the new master course of Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Today was the premiere of their performance, MEDEA MATERIAAL, based on the Euripides's play Medea. However, I have to say that it was difficult for me to find a relation between the Greek tragedy and their performance.

I would not say it is essential that a music theater should have a story. It can be totally abstract without any words. But it was just something else where they wanted to hit it and quit it. Introducing diverse music styles, students showed off what they can do. Vocal, guitar, bass, reeds, violin, keyboard and drum from classical polyphonic chorus to psychedelic rock or folk song. Always it was accompanied by weird movement or nonsense mime. Apparently it was a kind of "post-modern-theater" though, I could not understand at all why they are doing that. What was your message? I would like to address to the casts with the word, "Waarom(why)" which they showed in a paper "speech-balloon" on the stage.

I do not know exactly how the whole production process was. By looking at the credit, only what I can guess is there was no director. Instead they did it together under the supervision of Paul Koek & Paul Slangen. Maybe they were too democratic in the ready-made structure. In a way, the performance was prepared well. Each transition from scene to scene was smooth. Performers' spacing was well arranged. Rather, it was well-mannered. Since this was a part of educational process, I would imagine they could not change the form.

If I try to find a kind way to criticise, I would be able to say that this performance represents one aspect of modern society where people try to behave as the system require. Allegory of a "good" consumer who tends to follow the new things without own policy, as if as a warning like "Don't think too much!"  Well, this is a little idealistic maybe...

2011.04.28 20:30- at Theater aan het Spui
www.theateraanhetspui.nl


ミュー ジックシアターを学ぶ修士コースT.I.M.Eの初演を見て来た。今年度スタートした新しい学部が半年かけて準備した公演に期待して行ったのだが、コンセプトを欠いた記号的「多様性」の羅列にがっかりした。出演者それぞれの音楽家、役者としての才能がかいま見れただけに、なんとももったいない。ギリシャ悲劇『メデイア』との関連が僕には見つけられなかったが、それ以上にどこにも向かっていかない表層的な表現になってしまっていたように感じた。出演者が共同で創作するという構造がもたらしたことかもしれないが、作品のメッセージを決めるという演出家の大切な役割がこのグループの中に不在だったと言わざるを得ない。初年度というのは学校側もいろいろと模索がある事だと思うので、今後の作品に期待したい。