Above: Aliyah Knight, playright and performer, in the role of Maddie. Featured image: Aliyah Knight as Maddie, swathed in stunning lighting. Images: Abraham de Souza.
We are all only a few gaslit, predatorily-targeted steps away from Medusa-like anger and writhing revenge at any point. Mixing with non-god gluttons keen to punish us on an emotionally, sexually or even just on a social level can make us want to turn abusive humans to stone. And more.
Snakeface, a visceral new work, from gifted word-worker Aliyah Knight strikes out at us from the stage in a powerhouse monologue by this performer-playwright. We are blessed by the directness of discussion here, with the energy, virtuosic writing and by an engaging, captivating, layered performance from this talent.
Knight hisses at us playfully and ominously as the character of trained clay-worker Maddie suffers abuse, and the attempted smothering of truth. Maddie’s angry, confused visage becomes increasingly blurred with Medusa’s literal and metaphorical fierce snake face and a slow, steady, addictive lessening of control. We want to look away- but can’t – as the performance is too riveting. We witness the hunted, humorous, poetic and raped Maddie run out of places to hide in a damaged head and ravaged body.
This is an incredibly well-paced and layered theatrical event. Director Bernadette Fam is to be congratulated. The play writhes and slithers, tightly coiled with brilliant blocking and engaging aspects for text delivery. It has an unrelenting momentum and speaks with huge range of nuance. Breathtakingly delivered, this homage to mythological revenge blasts us into a shared reality with grass-roots motifs of growing up, going out, going awry and finding our way back through genuine friendship, family, an amazing outlook and creativity.
This is a candid, caricature-filled, spectacularly-described romp which utilises flashback, time fractured recollections and scene-replays. The powerful physicality is punctuated by projected poetry (powerfully designed by Wendy Yu, with fine supporting lighting and video systems designed by Rachel Lee). Between these more acute moments are many casual, chat-style, irresistible raconteur spots-but the text is anything but mundane.
Striking physicality (movement direction and choreography here is from Fetu Taku), stunning visuals and an undulating expressiveness that would make anyone want to sink into the vivid descriptions consistently available during this piece. The set design, a lesson in simple but hugely expressive objects by Keerthi Subramanyam, features a clay plinth which Maddie rests on, orates around and almost destroys as her memories plus anger escalates. Also, some high, evocatively draped gauzy fabrics catch the changing light vividly draped around this desperate Medusa when the time for working on calm comes along.
Above: Aliyah Knight chants to us from the clay plinth. Image: Abraham de Souza.
Victimisation, grooming, violence, anger and overlapping recoveries are hard topic areas. This well-directed, sensitively produced piece however has the audience on the edge of their seats, laughing, giving knowing nods, fighting back tears and laughing at the joyous fight and attitude of the chatty, inspiring character on stage.
Through a sticking performance using the stage brilliantly and a clay plinth, we are drawn into the character Maddie’s pain, the splinters of hope an incredible, mood saving sense of humour. Finely sculpted mélange of innocence, damage, friends, family, social or emotional danger and anger are shared so poignantly in this irresistible account.
Layered costume elements (bravo to Wanyika Mshila for the assembly) and jewellery are removed at intervals en route to the snakes crowding Maddie’s face and fierce fears more and more. Some successful sound elements highlight the shifting intensities of Maddie’s damaged descent. Marco Cher-Gibard’s compact materials and their clever combination work well here.
This is landmark one-person theatre event. As with the recent track record from the inimitably well-rounded production team at Fruit Box Theatre, we are looked after with an elevated, strong entertainment, successful set, effective sound element, and clever costuming. The Snakeface team includes a Community Engagement Lead (Kelly Dezart- Smith)and a Wellbeing Consultant (Shondelle Pratt).
Above: Aliyah Knight presented a huge range of expression and control in ‘Snakeface’; This stretched from high school innocence to the abused, vengeful, adult, Medusa-like creature above. Image: Abraham de Souza.
Such progressive, relevant integrity sets a night with the Fruit Box aside from many other theatrical events, queer or non-queer. The collective experience, being so thoughtfully guided, is immensely meaningful. It is gently didactic and the fireworks display on stage can be safely accessed despite the challenging content.
At the conclusion of the play, the audience was invited to exit immediately or remain in the theatre in a curated quiet space of reflection to take more time to process the issues dealt with. A modern master stroke, this production point showed gentle handling of the emotional impact good theatre discussion can have on us.
As the director states in the programme notes, “…. the solution is not the erasure of rage, of trauma, but instead, a call to value Black joy as much as the pain”. Many moments on the stage beckon to us, encourage solidarity, urge understanding and promote zero tolerance for unjust manipulation. Many theatrical devices, movements and sweetnesses of speech make joys, pain and identity clear for us.
This tale of a talented poet, artist, energetic, body-confident, black, queer, beautiful bundle of individuality betrayed and hurtled into the mythological stratosphere of pure revenge is a wild ride. It is also one of the most convincing, warm, clear and nicely contrasted one-person theatre pieces I have seen for some time.
Don’t miss the chance to see a new production from Fruit Box Theatre and this poignant moment of queer Black truth. This play is destined to touch and move the humans watching wherever it appears in our modern mythology around the globe
The poetry in this intimate piece about intimacy corrupted by cruelty will wow you. From the audience you will experience a range of broken clay-pot feelings and pinched shapes as you follow it. The blistering kiln-heat journey you will be taken on is theatre-of-the-recovering at its most solid, predicament-turned-to-stone best.
