Behaviour Festival: In May @ Tramway

Review by Eric Karoulla | 25 Mar 2014

Performed by the Ligeti Quartet with Samuel Rice, Fredrik Holm at the piano, and sung by Leentje Van de Cruys, In May follows a dying man's journey over the last few months of his life. While the text  was written by Frank Alva Buecheler and translated by Tim Clarke, the music is composed by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. 

Anna (de Cruys) reads - or sings - through entire letters, written from the perspective of a son to his father, spanning about six months through the advanced stages of cancer.While the subject matter is emotional of its own accord, the thing is drawn out over an hour and ten minutes, which feels unnecessary. 

Overall, the show has the potential to be emotionally overpowering, yet seems to waste its possibility to reach a climax due to its steady, calm pace. Obviously the death of the main character is the inevitable ending, and the haunting music adds a certain elegance and nobility to his death, yet it feels as though something is lacking in the build-up. 

 

Run ended.

For other events in Behaviour Festival: thearches.co.uk/events/arts/behaviour-festival-2014

http://tramway.org/events/Pages/In-May.aspx