Trapped!

Watched ‘Lawn’ last week – a theatre/dance performance and an evocative portrayal of human desperation. Three Australians are ‘caught’ in an apartment- tied down by their banal existence. The dance portrays this angst in body and spirit. The play begins with the three of them walking around the apartment- each lost in their own tasks, tidying compulsively, stapling peeling wallpaper, or grumpily eating breakfast.

As they proceed to dress up for what seems like a typical day in the city; slowly the insanity unravels. They are trapped- in their bodies, by their language, in the limited space, and in their restricted lives. Their need for freedom surfaces in remarkably moving metaphors. There are theatric monologues, and stylistic contemporary dance routines, all in the context of a usual day in their lives. They long for their sunny, wide-open lawns back home in Australia, perhaps a longing for familiarity and being closer to their identity.

Was it just the feeling of being trapped indoors due to bad weather (the play takes place in Berlin, in winter)? Was it more insidious than that? The language of migration and up-rootedness was strong- especially with the language snippets, of communication and being gagged. Yet another theme is that of Kafka and his classic ‘Metamorphosis’- banality, sacrifice for family/society, the entrapment of the individual or just existentialism. But then there were so many layers to the performance that I could write an essay on it.

After the intense experience that lasted exactly 80 minutes we came out feeling alive and jolted. On my way back and later I continued to wonder- Are we all prone to the feeling of being trapped? Do we experience the same desperation in our everyday lives? How do we reconcile it? To me, the show signified the search for our dream- to some it’s the big house, or something else which they long for, to some it’s the fame or just the idea of a family. Without it and when we lose sight of it, we are lost- just getting through the motions.

Photo courtesy- David Kelly, The Courier Mail