Farm Fatale @ Tramway
French designer/director Phillipe Quesne puts great effort into the costumes and sound design of this strange Scarecrow circus, but struggles to materialise something meaningful
Farm Fatale, by French designer and director Phillippe Quesne, is one of several international offerings in Tramway’s autumn line-up. Left at a personal and professional loose end by the ravages of climate change, five scarecrows have formed a sort of commune where they spend their time singing, running a pirate radio station, and caring for their mysterious ‘chicken’ and its eggs, which hold “the seed of a long, tender future”.
The world Quesne has created is a strange one, and it takes a while to settle into as a viewer. The set is minimal against a flat, white backdrop. The birdsong of the play buts up against the traffic and sirens of Glasgow’s Southside, still audible in the theatre. The sound design by Robert Göing and Anthony Hughes also includes strange echoes and layering to the performers’ voices. The scarecrows themselves are costumed in an eclectic mix of bright clothing, with masks designed by Brigitte Frank. The masks are vaguely reminiscent of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface and might easily have come across as slightly creepy, but the excellent physical and vocal work by performers Léo Gobin, Sébastien Jacobs, Nuno Lucas, Anne Steffens, and Gaëtan Vourc’h balances the charming and watchable with the uncanny and inhuman.
There are some very funny moments – at one point the scarecrows attempt to interview Margrit, one of the last bees in Europe, only to discover that she speaks only Walloon – and some very sad ones. The distinctly European absurdist feel, the integration of musical and circus elements, and the offbeat premise combine to bring something fresh both to climate theatre and to Glasgow. As the play progresses, however, the quirky characters and concept elements don’t quite come together into a satisfying arc.
Overall, Farm Fatale feels like it currently occupies an odd space between theatre and performance installation: the concept is compelling, the design work is beautiful, and the character performances are thoroughly enjoyable, but as a narrative that works on a textual as well as a metatextual level, it leaves something to be desired.
Farm Fatale; Run ended