Peacock Theatre, London
January 12, 2017
Maggie Foyer
Familie Flöz are a rare treat. They turn the verb ‘mask’ into ‘reveal’ in magical fashion and in Teatro Delusio they turn the theatre inside out. We see the world of opera and ballet through the eyes of the backstage crew, a trio of old hands who maintain a tight hierarchy and play on very human desires: indulging their own fantasies, doing as little as necessary on the job and shifting the blame when things go wrong – and in this show anything that can go wrong with electric plugs and wiring, does.
In addition to their backstage personas the three superbly talented performers, Andrès Angulo, Johannes Stubenvoll and Thomas van Ouwerkerk, also create orchestral players, singers and dancers. They capture precisely the vanities and insecurities of the performer in a seemingly endless parade of characters each time sporting a new wig, mask, costume and personality. The ageing, myopic violinist, the flamboyant timpanist and opera singers in Mozartian 18th-century dress each have their memorable moments. (The logistics of backstage changes must be formidable!) But away from the divas and dancers, tall lanky, Van Ouwerkerk, in his stagehand guise, sneaks a quiet moment to read with his pet ferret who lives secreted away in a trunk: a puppet with an appealing twitch.
Photo Simona Boccedi
If the trio took the easy route and settled for an overused stereotype of the camp male ballet dancer, there was nevertheless real pathos and genuine feeling in the love affair between the ballerina and her adoring stage hand. I loved the moment where he uses his staple gun to secure her wobbly headdress! Theirs is a saga of true love which becomes slapstick mayhem as the two lovers seek to outwit a vengeful Rothbart.
The masks, credited to Hajo Schüler, have mystic qualities. The profiles, defined in noses and chins, are full of character but it is the eyes, just small blank holes, that take on an inner life. Bordering on the grotesque, the masks epitomise humanity and are directed with the skill that comes from minute observation, acute perception and a dash of genius.
Photo Pierre Borrasci
Playing through at 80 minutes Familie Flöz, have the audience eating out of their hands from the opening moments. A symbolic wooden door leads us to the undiscovered world behind scenes. The first character, a child-size puppet in white dress, is visibly manipulated by the three: one at the head and two hands. Is she the ghost of the theatre? Or a wandering Isolde mourning her Tristan? She appears at intervals throughout the performance bringing together the disparate pieces of an alternative world all under the prodigious directing talent of founder company member, Michael Vogel.
Teatro Delusio was part of the London International Mime Festival 2017, which runs to February 4. Visit www.mimelondon.com for more shows.