Theatre Review: Echo: Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen

 The Performance: Echo: Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen by Nassim Soleimanpour

The Theatre: The Malthouse

Until: 19 July (Production has ended) 

This is also playing in Canberra from 24-26 July at the Canberra Theatre Centre

Stars: 5

I booked a cheap seat on a whim. It looked interesting. A concept piece, which is something the Malthouse Theatre is known for. They are great for the avant-garde and cutting-edge theatre. Why not, I thought. I'm in Melbourne, I liked the sound of the production. 

I don't mind going into a performance blind. 

And I will be thinking about this one for a long time to come. Not only because of what went down on stage, but how this performance of Echo: Every Cold-Hearted Oxygen views the world as well as challenging your view of the world. It makes you challenge your views and feelings about home. 

The concept is this. Over the week of the production, eight different actors are put on stage. They are unrehearsed. They are explicitly told not to research the performance. They know that this will have aspects of multi-media, but that's about it. They are also told to bring along a pair of white socks - that is their only preparation. Random, heh?

For the Malthouse performances the performers were: 

• Michelle Brasier
• Ben Lawford
• Stan Grant
• Pia Miranda
• Jan Fran
• David Campbell
• Nadine Garner

The cast for the Canberra performances include Benjamin Law, Nathalie Morris, Fayssal Bazzi and Paula Arundel. 

I caught the Saturday Matinee with David Campbell. Why this one, other than the timing? I have David Campbell in my living room most mornings as he's on the Today Show and he's easy background noise. Though not an actor's actor, he can command a stage. And I would have gone and seen any one of these actors. 

According to the Malthouse website, the show goes like this: 

"Every night, a new performer takes to the stage not knowing what is going to be asked of them. Unrehearsed and deliberately unprepared, the script becomes their only guide as they journey through the story of the playwright, connected live from his home in Berlin. (Or is he?)"

When David Campbell came on, he said he was up for a challenge. He was nervous. He remembered his socks. The only other piece of equipment on him was a mike and earpiece in his left ear. There was an assistant stage manager around to ferry about the odd prop. 

Then the magic happens. It's all about trust. Trust in the actor, the playwright and the audience. 

On stage, there is a table, a laptop, a tripod on which sits a phone-sized camera, a couple of screens and a small Persian carpet. All have a role to play in this. 

We also get to meet Nassim, through the laptop, who takes us on his journey. Nassim is a German Iranian, having left Iran, he is now based in Germany with his wife, and dog, Echo. 

What got to me is that you never knew where this was going to go. It explores the concept of home, and how we see home. Connection, and how we are connected. It explores time, and how it blends and melds. Nassim describes time as a bridge over a fast-flowing river, with either side of the river being the past and the future. Nassim gives us an introduction to his life through the unprepared actor on stage. 

I will not say much more for fear of ruining this for people seeing it in the future. I will say that it's cutting-edge theatre that makes you think and feel. I walked away with tear in my eyes. 

The other thing I really wanted to do was sit down to talk to David Campbell (or any of the performers) and see what the experience was like from their point of view. There have been comments left on social media saying that if they wanted to see something that was unrehearsed, they'd go to their kids' school plays. Although this was unrehearsed it wasn't unscripted, and it could be argued that the actors were prepared. They had the courage to put themselves out there and helped to deliver a thought-provoking, genre bending performance. 

I feel very honoured to have seen this. If you're in Canberra next week, beg, borrow, steal or buy a ticket. It's remarkable. 

Today's song: