Created by Amit Lehav
Presented by Gecko
Liverpool Playhouse
21st – 24th February 2018
Reviewed by Colin Serjent
Gecko, who are regular visitors to the Liverpool Playhouse, have produced another oddball, surreal, dreamlike – call it what you will – spectacle with The Wedding.
It opened with a darkened stage, then illuminated by characters moving through a circular tunnel and emerging from a hatch, each figure clutching a small teddy bear – I am not sure why – who were then attired with either a wedding dress or a suit by a woman clutching a clipboard.
There were a mixture of languages spoken, which are difficult to decipher, making the speech patterns other-worldly.
A number of wedding traditions were performed, including an eye-catching Jewish ceremony.
There is one jarring scene for me, when a very strong light is pointed directly at the audience. i am not sure what it was supposed to signify, but I had to shield my eyes from the sun-like beams in the sixth row, while others around me foolishly stared at them.
There was a multitude of issues addressed in the 80 minute production. For example, an individual expressing the wishes of a lot of people of wanting a better lifestyle, instead of being ensnared in a tedious job and living a mundane existence.
The issue of migration is referred to with people – African, Middle Eastern and East European – living out of suitcases, who literally carried suitcases!
The music performed was entrancing, derived from different continents, which blended well with the high-energy and at times frenetic choreography of the cast.
In the closing scene all the actors sat at the front of the stage and performed a joyous and rousing finale.