That you can put a shoe on. But also not. That it doesn't really make much sense to put a shoe on, if you will take it off later in the day anyway. Why bother? Why live? Recognisable? For anyone who has ever been in a slump, yes. Theatre group Kassys, most recently a worldwide hit with ''Total Eclipse of the Heart', has created the ultimate show about depression with The Script. Brilliant, at times hilarious and ultimately quite depressing. As it should be.
Liesbeth Gritter, founder of Kassys, came up with a very simple idea. She wrote a simple script for a solo, to be performed by one actor. Without text, with only described actions, within a time frame of 75 minutes. That script is then performed by six actors. Simultaneously on the same stage, but as if they were on their own, without the colleagues. The result is rather mind-blowing.
Minimal Music
For such a performance, think music. Minimal music, above all. A bunch of separate notes, performed at their own pace, with their own intention, separate from each other. Play them simultaneously, those notes start working together. Then fragile music sounds, a canon sometimes, a drone too, and unexpected harmonies, deep blues. Because the players perform their notes as a strict solo, that harmony eludes them, while we enjoy it. That puts a very sad layer over the performance. For that reason alone, The Script is high art in all its simplicity.
Once upon a time, Kassys made the show 'Kommer'. In it, six actors stood idly on a stage for three quarters of an hour in what could be described as a mourning situation. Their random actions were magnified. Fiddling with a lease plant became an expedition through a minefield. It ended with semi-documentary film footage in which the players fared badly.
Comer 2.0
The Script is a kind of 'Kommer 2.0'. Gritter is years sadder and wiser, and must herself have once stood at the edge of the psychic drain. Without it, she could not have captured the essence of what depression is so sharply. Six islands of actors, lost characters in a hopeless life with only a pizza courier as the lonely highlight of the day. This cannot help but end deeply sad. The one moment when connection seems to briefly emerge makes it even sadder.
So there is also a lot to laugh at in this performance, but much more than in other Kassys' work, that laughter is mockery. The deadpan of the actors is naturally reminiscent of Buster Keaton, and someone like Harm van Geel can't help but like him either anyway. However, the performance does not derail. That is very brave of the actors and it impresses.
Korrelation
The Script ultimately offers no comfort. I didn't step out feeling confident. Even briefly missed the trusting phone number of Correlation Foundation in the credits. So consistently looking for the seriousness behind the humour? I have rarely experienced it. That commands respect for Liesbeth Gritter's bold choice.
The Script is yet to be seen.
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