The Destroyed Room @ Traverse Theatre
The Destroyed Room takes its name from Jeff Wall’s 1978 photograph, showing a site of structured devastation, shedding no light on why this has happened, or what will happen next.
This is mirrored in the piece: a contextless room, inhabited by performers whose relationship is unknown, having a conversation whose only context is the performance itself. Within this vacuum, each performer brings their own experiences and opinions gleaned through the lens of modern media.
The performers follow a semi-improvised discussion of how we react to local crises versus global crises, natural disasters versus terrorism, and whether or not sandals are racist. It begins comfortably enough so the audience almost feel as if they want to join in, but as bottles are finished and predilections for consuming tragedy come to light, nastiness sets in. Judgement and self-righteousness become the currency as the room begins, imperceptibly and fascinatingly, to flood.
The Destroyed Room provokes the audience to ask unsettling questions about the difference between awareness, empathy and voyeurism. While the form promises deeper meaning, the conversation edges towards the vacuous: no opinions are offered which you haven’t heard before. Presumably this is the point, but can become dull viewing. The emotional climax is undercut by a superfluous epilogue, and the feeling on leaving is one of general annoyance.
It is admittedly more effective in its aftermath, as irritation may be less at the questions than at personal reflections. The Destroyed Room is unforgiving in its depiction of western apathy, but frustratingly restrictive in its preclusion of hope for the future.