DramaLondonReview

Hildegard Von Bingen – VAULT Festival, London

Reviewer: Alex Vella Bartholomew

Creator and Director: Kristin Winters

Three women, three generations, three stages of life. Kristin Winters, Miriam Elwell-Sutton and Sarah Kent all play Hildegard Von Bingen, a woman crumpled by silence before claiming her power. They walk single file into an ominous chamber, the audience seated on church benches. As the women become obscured by hanging translucent drapes, the atmosphere is dark, sinister, powerful. One feels that God is watching, not the forgiving kind, but the thou-hath-sinned kind.

Hildegard is a visionary tormented into silence before becoming one of the most prominent women in European History, regarded as the Patron Saint of music and poetry. We follow her story from childhood as she is removed from her parents at age eight and placed into a convent under the watchful eyes of Jutta, a woman who is scared of the world and of men in particular. The three Hildegards on stage shout for “mummy”, pleading for love and affection. Their calls go unanswered and Hildegard is tormented by the piercing noises in her head, her painful visions poetically represented by a shot of white light and unbearable noise.

Lighting and sound is expertly mastered by Alex Forey and Florence Hand throughout the performance, in a way that gives light a voice, and gives sound a visual experience. The voices of the actors are also part of the soundtrack; they echo each other as if in a hollow church; voices falling on deaf ears.

We watch child-Hildegard grow into woman-Hildegard, one who protects herself and her sisters. They prefer to work hard and worship God in the convent than venture outside the convent’s walls to marry a man. They find the constriction of the convent liberating in comparison to the imprisonment of marriage. As Hildegard breaks free from silence, the three women use their voices to sing and they find some joy in their bodies. There is a rare funny and ‘girly’ moment as the Hildegards sing Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. They adorn themselves in the silky drapes, before becoming trapped in a diamond-shaped construction of the material. The use of the drapes is exquisite, as if thought of like a fourth actor. They are used as props, scenery and staging, changing shape as the story changes shape; barriers imprisoning the Hildegards transform into drops of water showering them.

As Hildegard becomes older, her mind talks with purpose, her voice with freedom, but her body struggles to keep up. She is old and people disregard her. She is told that she is a danger to herself and to her sisters, but Hildegard stands resolute; she will not be silenced. The three actors have a clear connection, helped by fantastic movement direction by Gabrielle Moleta. There is nothing surface-level about the choreography; each movement has a purpose and adds depth. The performance is physically demanding for the actors; they express their pain through their bodies.

The production isn’t a thorough account of the life of Hildegard Von Bingen. It is considerably simplified, or at least it is presented with a considerable amount of missing information. The achievements of Hildegard are glossed over quickly and with little explanation, and the reason for her being told she is a danger isn’t well understood. However, this doesn’t take away from the impact of the production. We watch the experience of woman. Despite this being an account of an extraordinary woman, all women can relate to her, and the audience feels her emotions alongside the three actors. The performance leaves a powerful image; the three women echoing ‘I am Hildegard’, a demonstration of her resilience, her voice, and her legacy.

Runs until 26 February 2023

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