People Without History

Project Arts Centre, Dublin Apr 9-10 8pm €20/€18 01-8819613

In a week when theatrical production has been stripped down to a minimum, here comes a striking new play by Richard Maxwell, a theatre maker whose work always tends to be stripped down to a minimum of activity. With his NYC Players, Maxwell has honed a style that encourages actors to perform in a self-conscious monotone so bled of affect that it becomes bewilderingly affecting.

How radical you find his methods will depend on your memory. Theatre has been keeping us at arm’s length ever since a Greek first put on a mask, and Maxwell seems to hearken back to Brechtian alienation devices as much as helping to define the postdramatic.

Maxwell’s new play is a piece about war and the erosion of identity. Set after the 15th century Battle of Shrewsbury, with period details that largely amount to actors wearing red long johns and chainmail, the play may rattle new initiates. “If there was a strategy, I couldn’t suss it,” says one character, in seeming sympathy, although she is speaking of the battle. Using lyrical speech and song to involve us, Maxwell is always sticking to a plan.

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Weaving the Cry

The Back Loft, Dublin