Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE FALL at St. Ann’s Warehouse exudes youthful defiance, and unalloyed hope

• By drediman
• March 18, 2018
• No Comments

The company of the Baxter Theatre’s production of “The Fall” at St. Ann’s Warehouse.

Over the years, St. Ann’s Warehouse has proven itself to be perhaps New York’s premier presenter of the most exciting productions from across he pond. This season is no exception – so far we’ve gotten Denise Gough’s smashing performance in Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places, and Things (Ms. Gough can currently be seen as Harper in the highly anticipated Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, now in previews at the Neil Simon), as well as the sensational American premiere of Enda Walsh’s Ballyturk and bold theatrical auteur Thomas Ostermeier’s deeply philosophical Returning to Reims. Now we have South Africa’s Baxter Theatre Centre’s production of The Fall, which was previously seen at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and London’s Royal Court Theatre.

If The Fall doesn’t have quite the sophisticated toolkit and hence fails to ultimately generate the same intellectual excitement as the aforementioned productions, it nonetheless makes for worthwhile, visceral theater. The piece was devised by a group of actors/students in response to the pervading culture of colonialism and oppression they experienced at university. As such, The Fall is an invigorating collage of scenes that collectively encapsulate these students’ rage, conflicted emotions, and defiant action.

The production at St. Ann’s is sparse, relying on the unflaggingly energetic cast to fill the space with their bodies. As directed by the Baxter Theatre’s artistic director Lara Foot, The Fall is an ensemble-based and movment-driven show that feels totally organic, shape-shifting through scenes with both remarkable fluidity and muscularity. What the production particularly suggests – especially as performed by the show’s infectiously passionate and diverse cast – is that only in the hands of the hopeful, idealistic youth can the world be changed.

RECOMMENDED

THE FALL
Off-Broadway, Play
St. Ann’s Warehouse, in association with the Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Through March 25