What: The Insomnia Project
When: July 29 – August 9
Where: La Mama Courthouse
Written, composed and directed by: Natasha Moszenin
Performed by: Anne Gasko, Jai Luke, Claire Nicholls, Fiona Scarlett, and Andi Snelling
Lighting by: Kate Kelly
Stage management by: Sarah Walker
Normally, whenever I see that a show has
been written and directed by the same person I can’t help a little groan from
escaping because in my experience it is almost impossible for a writer to step
outside the work far enough to make the show a full experience for the
audience. The Insomnia Project, currently showing at La Mama Courthouse, is
the exception the to rule. Moszenin not
only wrote and directed it, but she is also the composer and it is her
understanding of musical composition which brings the sophistication and detail
into her directing that is often lacking.
The
Insomnia Project is a study of sleeplessness – the
phenomenon, the experiences, the distress and frustration, and the treatments. Anyone who has ever experienced insomnia will
find themselves inside this difficult condition almost immediately. The true genius of the show is its ability to
viscerally replicate the sensations in the audience – which is also what makes
the show something of a living nightmare and a belly laugh for those who have
been there themselves.
Natasha is one of our most skilled and
accomplished composers with an extraordinary amount of experience in theatrical
arenas as well as scoring films and musical composition. She is classically trained, but has a rich history
in contemporary music and theatrical composition.
The Insomnia Project loosely follows
four people surviving an endless night of insomnia. The funniest story line is played by
Nicholls, who is spending the night at her parent’s house. She can’t sleep, but also can’t do anything
because everyone else in the house is asleep so she can’t make noise.
Snelling demonstrates an amazing
understanding of her physical body in space as she replicates a zombie, and
those scarey late night shadows, clinging to floors and walls in her torturous
everlasting night. Scarlett has an amazing vocal texture, and her classically
trained voice haunts the early hours of the morning with its hypnotic
texture.
The show is a series of songs, but I
wouldn’t call it a musical. It is more
music theatre than musical theatre.
Moszenin has a love of jazz, and that
freestyle form litters the construction of the show in an intriguing and
unpredictable manner. Kelly manages to
mimic this in her lighting design, teasing us with suggestions that things will
happen but then revealing the truth cleverly.
The Insomnia Project is musically
intriguing, and whilst the cast do suffer from some pitchiness which, I
suspect, prevented Moszenin from giving the vocals the creativity that was
possible, the big reveal of the night was Moszenin’s talent for directing. What
she demonstrated was not just a flair for dramatic construction, but also an
understanding of the body in the space, and sound in the space.
When you watch The Insomnia Project you
are seeing a complete and unrelenting study which engages all of the
senses. It has humour, pathos, despair,
and frustration – everything you want in a good night of theatre.
Apart from engaging this range of
emotions, Moszenin engages all of our senses.
To do this she uses light, movement, zones, music, sounds, text…probably
the only sense not engages is smell.
On a more serious note, this show is not
just a study for the sake of it. There
is commentary as the various characters search for escape.
Some try alcohol, some try repetitive
tasks, some try forcing themselves to sleep.
Eventually the topic of medically assisted sleep is touched on.
Moszenin goes through four popular
products used to assist sleep including side effects and cautions. Whilst this could get mired in tedium and
repetition, Moszenin uses musical techniques of repetition, progression and
call and response to lift it out of the banal and make the messages clear and
also just a little bit of fun without being inappropriate or trivialising the
issues.
The Insomnia Project is a truly unique
work and one of the really outstanding shows this year. Moszenin is a theatrical genius and I suspect
we shall she her working on main stages in the very near future.
4.5 Stars
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