The Exquisite Corpse

Surrealists invented “le cadavre exquis”, more commonly known as Consequences or Heads, Bodies and Legs. The Exquisite Corpse is a dramatic version of this and, as with the games, the audience is to be engaged by the meaningful product of randomness.

Five playwrights have written 15 scenes between them. The five actors sensitively portray short scenes including a mother drowning in a bath and a dog visiting its therapist. But these scenes have no fixed order: before the performance the audience have a crucial part to play in the work’s construction by determining the order in which the scenes are performed.

From the seemingly surreal scenes, profound ideas are raised and resolved – or not, depending on the scene order. This is a dangerous game to play with the audience, and one that might make it more meaninglessly fragmented than exquisite. But a combination of top quality acting, beautifully striking images projected as a backdrop, and inspiring and atmospheric music and sound effects merge to produce a piece of living theatre.

There may be no conventional storyline but the audience can piece together links between the scenes. Every theatrical performance is unique and the interpretation of every spectator is individual, but this is especially so for this production. The writers of The Exquisite Corpse have passed more power to the audience. As the programme emphasises, it is the individual’s experience of the play that counts, so go and see what you think.