A park guard encounters a woman dressed as a ballerina, making paper swans on a bench. He’s desperate to find out why she’s doing this, but all she’ll say is she’ll leave when she’s finished. What follows is an hour of absurdist theatre infused with playwright Vyte Garriga’s experiences of post-Soviet Lithuania.
The action is cyclical in nature, each time round the park guard becoming increasingly frantic for the answer that never comes. It’s like Waiting For Godot meets Groundhog Day; things never quite resolve, and each ‘cycle’ has subtle changes. The swans will first be placed on the lake, then it’s decided they’ll be hung in the air – if the guard doesn’t ruin them first. Human urges towards destruction, forgiveness and redemption are considered; who is the aggressor in this cycle? To what end is the violence? And is there a point to anyone’s actions?
Visually it’s striking, the action lit by harsh LED tubes and the only other pop of colour coming from blood as negotiations take a violent turn. Sparse musical stabs and exaggerated, almost clownish movements add to the surreal, unsettling atmosphere. The dozens of swans themselves are meticulously prepared as the audience files in, and end up whirled around the stage almost as much as Vyte. It’s a mesmerising experience.
With Paper Swans Vyte Garriga has created an extraordinary piece of theatre that’s a gut punch to the senses and will have the viewer thinking about its implications for a long time afterwards.
****
Paper Swans is at Pleasance Courtyard from 1-25 Aug (not 14)