The experience was uncomfortable (literally), unsettling, and at the same time deeply satisfying from both a theatrical and a spiritual point of view. The privileged few (for logistical reasons) who were able to experience it felt physically and emotionally involved in the production in a way that would have been impossible in a theatre.All the same, the scenarios, in and of themselves, were straightforward stagings that could have been done just as well in any conventional theatre space.
This year Brincat has taken the concept of involvement a radical step further. The trudge through thorns and bush is gone- a relief for pant legs and sore feet (though we did get a free wash at the end of last year's production) but also a bit of a shame in the loss of a feeling of being "grounded." Last year's hike has been replaced by a series of short combi trips between private homes in the village itself. Though some might miss the bush experience, and feel just a little awkward, even alienated, bouncing along the back roads in combis, the gain in terms of involvement is huge. In this production, the audience, which is necessarily even smaller than last year's - and split into even smaller groups (mine was a mere five people) for logistical reasons - is thrust directly into the scenarios along with the actors. We stand or sit with them in their "own" homes and feel more like visitors, sometimes intruders, into a series of extremely private crises.
