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ED2011 4/5 Reviews ED2011 Theatre Reviews
The Dark Philosophers (National Theatre Wales / Told By An Idiot)
By Jessica Ballance | Published on Saturday 27 August 2011
“Let me explain – I’m dead.” In this mystifying performance, that wasn’t the only thing that needed clarification. Fragmented narratives were intricately woven together into captivating, somewhat cohesive theatre by a deceased yet ever-present masked figure. The events, for the most part, followed a patchwork trail along the lifeline of Gwyn Thomas, a novelist once termed “the true voice of the English-speaking valleys”. The set was ingeniously conceived, with wardrobes serving as portals between other characters’ stories as well as across time. Though this did mean that occasionally the multiplicity of narratives proved a little hard to follow, the narrative flung itself back and forth, shifting focus between Thomas and the parallel (equally scintillating) stories immersed in Brimstone Terrace. Bewitching.
Traverse Theatre, 9 – 28 Aug (not 15, 22), times vary, £6.00 – £19.00, fpp253.
tw rating 4/5
[jlb]
