Director: Yngvild Aspeli
Assistant director: Benoît Seguin
Reviewer: Lela Tredwell
When the cast from award-winning company Plexus Polaire steps forward to receive their standing ovation, a shocking truth is revealed. There are seven of them. How can such a small crew of actors and puppeteers have performed storytelling on such an epic scale? The audience is stunned, but at this point in proceedings, we’ve become familiar with the feeling. In this magnificent 90-minute adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic novel, every moment feels astonishing. If we are indeed in the ocean, as the immersive set suggests, the audience has surely drowned from spending so much of the performance with mouths open in awe.
They say there is a euphoria that comes with the act of drowning, which sits beside a moment of calm resolve. This company dances with those sensations, taking us along for the ride, as we hop back and forth between the world of the living and that of the dead. It’s sublime storytelling that cannot fail to capture even the most jaded of imaginations. We are transported to the depths of the deep dark sea, we sail upon it with the crew of the Pequod, and we swim beside its most beautiful and beguiling of creatures.
Using over 50 exquisitely crafted puppets, including that of a life-sized whale, the company has an extraordinary gift for bringing into being many a species in such a lifelike way you’ll be mesmerized by the mechanics. Whether human, animal, mermaid, or monster, the cast expertly moves their charges with intense care and attention. Be it recreating the movement of a sperm whale, the mannerisms of a crewmate, or even the feeling of blossoming affection through a very subtle head tilt, all puppetry is so skilfully executed that it seems like it must be magic. When we first see Captain Ahab at the helm of his vessel, we can be forgiven for not being able to distinguish him from a human. As the penny finally drops he’s a puppet, it seems unbelievable, but this performance really needs to be seen to be believed.
Following in puppetry tradition, Melville’s narrator, the man he wrote we should call Ishmael, is the only named character to be played to a substantial degree by a human actor. He acts as our guide in this tale, where the composed majesty of the ocean is juxtaposed with the madness of Captain Ahab. Those that are familiar with the novel may fare a little better on this voyage. At times the language becomes densely philosophical in homage to Melvin’s writing, while some details, like that of the prophecy Ahab is told by his angels of death, get a little lost. As the stirring live musical accompaniment hits full force, it becomes hard to make out Captain Ahab’s words as he hits full frenzy, consumed by his vengeful pursuit of the elusive ‘monster’ he calls Moby Dick. However, the sensory power of this telling gives us all we need to know. This is the story of one man’s obsessive hunt for the white whale he claims took his leg.
Epic projections, from video designer David Lejard-Ruffet, and flawless lighting, by designers Xavier Lescat and Vincent Loubière, flood the stage. Massive sheets are used to create the movement of the ocean. An absolute delight with this production is how it plays with scale and perspective. Multiple puppets of the same character are used in order to create the illusion of different camera angles. In one of the most haunting sequences in the show, an epic battle between man and peaceful creature plays out from above by simply turning the model of the ship Pequod on its side. Row boats soar out of it in pursuit of the mother sperm whale. She is subsequently slowly stripped of her flesh by rotating her agonisingly slowly in front of her calf. Her head is then removed, and her carcass is left to sink to the bottom of the sea, followed in pursuit by the baby she was nursing.
This production doesn’t shy away from the brutality of whaling and the indulgence of man’s search for meaning. The obsession man has with his own death sits beside the death and destruction he causes. However, the company also finds a great deal of joy in this story. Sparkling fish drift playfully in the rays of light that stream through the dark ocean to give us hope. A charming scene where the crewmates swing in their hammocks before bedtime is humorous as well as uplifting.
What Plexus Polaire manages to achieve with this adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic novel is nothing short of a miracle. This production captures the epic moments of the novel with such skill and beauty, but it also gives us so much more. The meaning that can be found in forming bonds with other beings is explored, and the awe-inspiring majesty of the natural world is lovingly recreated. Miss at your peril Plexus Polaire’s magnificent Moby Dick. Hunt it down like Captain Ahab does ‘his’ whale. Not with the purposes of a vengeful sea captain, but instead sit spellbound by its astonishing feats of engineering and find majesty in its miracle.
Reviewed on 25th May. Runs until 27th May.
