The Brag

Woyyzeck / Until August 29 / Belvoir St

Taking on Woyzeck is no small task. Not only is Georg Büchner’s epic one of the most influential German plays ever written, it is unfinished, meaning that a director must make strict choices about how the play is to be completed, let alone performed. This production feels as though it has been wrestled out of the original text, by director Netta Yashchin.

Woyzeck is the story of a poor soldier who, to pay for his illegitimate child, agrees to take part in the pseudo-experiments of his regiment’s doctor. The details of these experiments are unclear, but one thing is for certain – Woyzeck is only allowed to eat peas. Understandably, this has a negative effect on Woyzeck’s mental health, and the play spirals from here.

The scenes of this unfinished text don’t always flow in a linear direction; rather than fighting this, Yaschin has embraced it, responding to different scenes with different tools. The theatrical language here often eschews psychological realism in favour of dance, image, and pop culture references that range from professional wrestling to Katy Perry. As she says in her program note, this is Yashchin’s “primal” response to the play.

Unfortunately, this means that occasionally the piece lacks a clear directorial vision; audiences risk disorientation as Yaschin’s production gets lost in its own web of cultural references and mixed styles. Holding the play together is the performance of Michael Pigott in the title role; one never doubts him as he grapples with Woyzeck’s metaphysical crises. The supporting cast is generally strong, with Zahra Newman’s intensity standing out as she plays Woyzeck’s insatiable love interest.

With live musicians, dance sequences and a Spice Girls reference, this is a unique and engaging hour and a half of theatre that will stick in the memory.

3.5/5

Henry Florence