REVIEW: Past Half Remembered [Theatre Buff]

Theatre Buff

Behind the scenes after the final curtain call...

REVIEW: Past Half Remembered

Posted on March 5, 2007 10:12 AM
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An Afternoon at the Theatre
Past Half Remembered performed by NIE
at the Battersea Arts Centre on Saturday 2 March

By Peter Coulston

On Saturday, I enjoyed a change from my usual smoky music cellars to enjoy a civilised couple of hours at the theatre. Well, sort of. Anyway, by way of introduction, the Battersea Arts Centre is an extremely pleasant experience located on Lavender Hill just up the road from Clapham Junction. I am no stranger to this venue, as I went to many jazz and folk concerts there in my youth as I grew up just down the road. Many pubs that were around then seem to have closed since I left, must be coincidence.

This was certainly an unusual theatre experience. Instead of going into the theatre at the alloted time, we waited in the bar to be greeted by three musicians playing russian music and another guy with a bottle of vodka. Had I not known that I was at the right place, I could have been forgiven for thinking that I had gatecrashed a russian wedding. We were offered vodka or tea before being escorted into the theatre, and I was polite enough to accept one of the beverages, and don’t ask which. The music continued on stage until the play actually began. It basically revolved around 100 year old Maria Michailovna looking back over her life, which covered her marriage, the First World War, the Russian Revolution and the siege of Stalingrad. This entailed the six talented performers showing off their musical and acting skills, hamming it up shamelessly and obviously enjoying every minute; which is OK because the audience loved it as well.

NIE, or New International Encounter, is a trans-European company that performs in different languages, often in the same production. This production featured french, russian and english for no apparent reason. It is the second part of a trilogy, the third part being “The End of Everything Ever” which runs until 18 March and should be well worth seeing if it is anything like this production, which was unfortunately for one night only. Back to the hamming. Well, the performers took every opportunity to make us laugh about crazy families, sex, war, politics and the fact that, in spite of it all, nothing has changed. They even used the old Frankie Howard “if I don’t get a Oscar or this, there’s no justice” gag to good effect. If you are not a Frankie Howard fan, just move right along.

I was not sure what to expect when I was offered this ticket, but I must say that this was one of most entertaining shows that I have seen for ages, and not just because of the vodka; oops. Battersea Arts Centre actively supports new and innovative work like this and must be commended for that. Theatre, like music, must always move on and experiment, while remaining accessible to the audiences that it needs to survive. NIE certainly seems to know how to get it right. And I’ll drink to that, also.

Read the review of My Long Journey Home on now at the BAC.