Dramatic performance but should it be staged?
Last updated 13:07, Tuesday, 19 August 2008
BOGUS Woman is, in my opinion, a play that Keswick Theatre probably shouldn’t have staged.
Gory, offensive, gruesome and repellent – and those were just the lighter moments.
There was actually one laugh in the 90-minute play but otherwise it was full-on, in-your-face sickening misery.
First I should make it clear that it is performed very well. Krissi Bohn gives a stunning performance – but sadly it only helps to bring the tale so ‘true to life’ as to make it even more horrible.
The monologue concerns an African woman arriving on English soil seeking political asylum. We learn how her family – including a day-old baby – has been murdered by an oppressive regime, how she has been raped and then we follow her life as she is moved from one detention centre to another. It’s not a laugh a minute. And, without giving too much away, it doesn’t have a happy ending either.
Is it theatre? My dictionary only defines theatre as ‘dramatic performance’. It’s certainly that. But would you really want to sit through this material for entertainment?
Judging by the small number in the audience, I’m guessing many other people decided they did not.
The problem is this: Keswick Theatre is where holidaymakers go for a fun night out. Trying to force-feed this material just ain’t going to work. Sure, it’s worthy. It’s important and Krissi’s story should be heard. But it belongs more in a Sunday newspaper supplement or on a Monday night BBC programme than in a Keswick theatre.
The day after I went to Keswick, a number of people asked me “Did you enjoy the theatre?” No is the honest answer – and I’d struggle to recommend this to anyone but hardened theatre-goers. That doesn’t mean it was bad theatre. Just bad Keswick theatre. The play runs until November.
Alan Cleaver
- See all Keswick Theatre reviews.
Mr Cleaver's review is sadly indicative of a lack of understanding of both theatre in general and Theatre by the Lake in particular. The Bogus Woman is challenging to both performer and audience but it is a challenge met with flying colours by the performer and clearly relished by the vast majority of those lucky enough to see it. Perhaps Mr Cleaver could in future be allocated less challenging tasks than to review such a dramatic gem, to spare him further embarrassment.
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im a theatre design student and went to see this performance with an open mind knowing it was going to be from a different perspective and obviously had been given mixed reviews.
well honestly i thought it was fantastic and just because it was a very disastrous story, its the performance and the actress that made the show.
so i think you all need to open your minds and realise someone put their heart and soul in to performing that piece and if you were expecting to see pantomime, make sure you read the small print first!
Posted by Emma on 2 September 2008 kl. 23:48