The play was presented in the form of a travel blog and often jumped from our two friends being excited about tasting a huge plate of pierogi to then being inconsolable at the memory of a great uncle hidden from the Nazis in a roof for years. I wanted time to take it in, to reflect, but almost as soon as I had begun to transcend into how I felt about it, we had moved on to another juxtaposed hilarity of another huge meal and a confusing tram system.
Perhaps I should digress. The play is about two friends, Dana and Joni who embark upon a trip to Poland to build up their play about the holocaust. Whilst sitting in the pub they both agree 'We need to go to Auschwitz'. Dana is presented as extremely well-organised, easily excitable and quite loud as well as defining herself as Jewish. Joni on the other hand, is our puppeteer. She is anxious and meeker yet for some reason, whenever she spoke meaningfully about her experiences, I could not take my eyes off her.
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I will say, that there were parts of the performance I really was drawn to. The significance and symbolism of the use of Buttons was something I adored. However, I wanted to make the judgement on what the symbolism was myself, rather than have Dana tell me all about it. There are certain things in theatre we need to have the option to analyse ourselves and we weren't given that opportunity. I really liked the part where Dana told us of how her great uncle had been hidden in the roof. We were forced to listen to the constant banging at the door as our puppet hid away in the attic. It was loud and it made us uncomfortable and that, is exactly what he must have been feeling...just for years of his life, rather than moments. It is unimaginable and we were given time to reflect upon this as the banging continued.
Another thing I liked was the sound, it added tension and is testimony to Phil Maguire. The rise in the electronic whir that seemed to exist in the room gave us all the feeling that something was about to happen. It kept us on edge. Especially when we were taken to Auschwitz and discovering what it felt like to have a panic attack.
As the girls tell us about their experiences something was then said that hit me hard. As Dana wrote lots of notes and Joni was more about taking it all in, Dana turns and asks her how she can't have written anything down. As tensions rise, Dana then exclaims 'No, you can't understand because you're not Jewish' shortly followed by an apology from Joni. I myself have been to Auschwitz, Joni described the ambience perfectly. Particularly the feeling that you get when inside the gas chamber in Auschwitz 1. Something caught my eye when I was there, a star of David etched into the wall. As we felt cold and almost as if all the silence in the world was held in that one room, the star of David was there, reminding us of those who perished. Perhaps even etched into the wall by one of them, in their final moments. Now I am not Jewish, but that touched me deeply. It was a human tragedy, a loss felt by anyone who feels for humanity. The holocaust is a 'human' loss, not just a Jewish one. That one line was the final straw for me. I didn't want to hear about Dana's story, Dana's relatives, Dana's food and Dana's opinion, I wanted to hear their stories, the ones of those that meant this play was even written. I wanted to hear more about the buttons.
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There were moments I really liked within the play. But a play about the holocaust has no room for self-indulgence. It fluctuated too often between light and dark not allowing us the time we needed to really understand where we were supposed to sit. Were we meant to laugh, or meant to cry? The 'waffle' as it is referred to in the programme, from Joni, actually was what allowed us to delve a little deeper. I understand what the girls were aiming for in their comedic recollections of museum closures, foreign performances and food. It seems they were attempting to lighten the issue, to slot it in to everyday life and make it more accessible, more relative. But the holocaust, if you give any time to it at all, is not applicable to be slotted into any part of normality. It is too heavy a main meal to offer a light desert promptly afterwards.
'Buttons' I maintain, are an exceedingly good symbol and a wonderful metaphor. They can be found in all sizes, in all colours. They can be grouped together or sewn separately. They can hold things together and they can undo. That much I had gathered even before Dana told me herself. As had the fact that they do look a little like a human face. I love the concept. I just did not enjoy the performance as I'd hoped. There were elements I think could truly work if they were to edit the script and change up the tone a little. I'd love to come back in a year and see what they might have done to alter it. It is after all, a FIRST performance and for their bravery in tackling such a subject I applaud them. The aesthetic was perfect, nice and simple and the projectors really added to the whole light/dark theme. I also really enjoyed the pegged photos and tickets that linked the past and present of the journey to and from Auschwitz together. Perhaps that, is a concept I would make further use of.
My advice is just that too much light, too much comedy took away from those moments you really need an audience to be hit in the face. Too many Ryan Air jokes and not enough quiet time to reflect if you ask me. 'Sort of Theatre', they have that part right as a lot of it was a recollection of a personal journey which does need to be there, just not so often. An applaudable effort most certainly, but I think there needed to be more theatre and less 'this is who I am and I'm just talking' because then, it could be really powerful as a piece. I wish them luck with any further performances however, the concept is interesting and others have seemed to be moved by it more than I. Not bad for a FIRST.
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