Low Down

TEAM present a sprawling subversion of the American epic. A pastiche of Margaret Mitchell's classic novel Gone with the Wind nestles amongst narrative strands, featuring amongst others a descendant of Henry Adams and a hapless beauty queen destined for the 'Miss Scarlett O'Hara pageant'.

Review

The most damning criticism that could be leveled at Architecting is that it ran the risk - in trying to say so much - of communicating very little and I confess that I found this performance at times a little overwhelming. However, this is merely a comment on the sheer volume of material contained is this performance, at times it felt like it was bursting at the seams. Also I think it would be unwise to discourage a dynamic young company like TEAM, with such an appetite for new ideas and combining different medias and performance styles in unexpected ways.

The title Architecting comes from the opening plot strand documenting architect Carrie Campbell's journey to Atlanta to work on a housing development started by her deceased father prompting a personal crisis of meaning. It provided a useful and faintly ironic starting point as so much of Architecting concerned the tossing aside blueprints and plans in favour of less structured and contrived approach.

The section that resonated most with me depicted Margaret Mitchell, played with great ease and charisma by Jessica Almasy, reduced to a powerless onlooker as her novel is re-imagined by contemporary Hollywood, minus any of the controversial treatment of race. This imaginative exploration of Western culture's selective memory, especially  when it comes to 'classic works', had real wit and featured an excellent rendering of Mamie by Jake Margolin. In this strand, Kristen Sieh was also in successful in finding Scarlett O'Hara's ruthless careerism, beautifully demonstrating how a woman of her 'abilities' would likely have fought her way to the top in any historical period.

The late introduction of an entirely new plot strand The Ballad of Caroline and Josh was perhaps a stretch too far and a show of this length could have benefitted from something as a simple as an interval, allowing the audience time to reflect and refocus. Yet the mixture, of excitement, confusion and desire to chat as the audience left the Traverse 2, was indication enough that we had seen something out of the ordinary.

TEAM's meteoric rise from Fringe First winners to a company in residence at the Traverse is wholly deserved. While this show would benefit from a tightening of focus, this company have chosen to point their dramatic lens at some fascinating subjects and at times achieve a clarity that borders on the inspired.

Reviewed by DS 09/08/08

Website :

http://www.traverse.co.uk/