Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Théâtre de la Ville’s production of IONESCO SUITE viscerally uncovers our shared humanity through the art of clowning

• By drediman
• January 24, 2019
• No Comments

The company of Théâtre de la Ville’s production of “Ionesco Suite” at BAM Fisher.

Last night, I caught Théâtre de la Ville’s production of Ionesco Suite at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAM Fisher space. The staging is essentially a mash-up of five disparate works (not necessarily plays) – The Bald Soprano; The Lesson; Frenzy for Two, or More; Jack, or The Submission; and French Conversation and Diction Exercises for American Students – by absurdist writer Eugène Ionesco. Although each scene comes from a different text, complete with its own set of characters, relationships, and circumstances, the evening is smartly unified by single setting – a dinner party for a social or familial celebration of some sort (e.g., birthday, wedding, etc.).

True to Ionesco’s aesthetic, the production resorts to the art of clowning as its primary mode of performance style. I’m happy to report that much of the show, as performed by the show’s continually shape-shifting ensemble of seven, is inspired buffoonery. Even though Ionesco Suite tickles the funny bone, Ionesco and director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota aim to accomplish more than simply concocting heightened theatrical hilarity. Indeed, the intensity generated by the combination of extreme physical comedy and Ionesco’s exuberant verbal diarrhea (the show is performed in French with projected English titles) serves to illustrate, uncannily and viscerally, the tragicomic realities of human existence.

The spirited and very funny company is clearly a tight knit group of thespians. From the program notes, I gathered that various members of the ensemble had worked closely with each other in various productions over the years – and it showed. The level of trust on display and the seemingly intuitive approach to the acting was a joy to watch. Although each actor was strong individually, collectively, their work possessed an emotional resonance that took me by surprise.

RECOMMENDED

IONESCO SUITE
Off-Broadway, Play
Théâtre de la Ville at BAM Fisher
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through January 26