Purgatorio by Romeo Castellucci
Barbican Main Theatre
9 April 2009
7.48pm – 7.55pm
Seat E12 - (A)
Seat E13 - (M)
You can read an introduction to Small Talk here.
_____________________________________________
7.48pm
A: Hello…
[PAUSE]
Hi…
M: Just trying to get into a book...[LAUGH]
A: Just trying to get into the book…what is it? [PAUSE] Oh right, okay.
M: Finally republished in England.
A: When was it…oh ’66 was it?
M: That was the last edition…
A: Okay…how far have you got?
M: Not very far! So I’m trying to get some in now…
A: You’re catching every moment you can!
M: Yup…because there is no programme.
A: You can get programmes can’t you?
M: They said they had sold out…
[PAUSE]
A: So what do you think its going to be like?
M: I dunno…nasty I think.
A: What’s that?
M: Pretty nasty, I hope.
A: Pretty nasty…
M: That’s the idea, isn’t it?
[PAUSE]
A: Have you seen any of the others?
M: No, I haven’t, I’ve only just come down…I live in Norwich so…
A: Oh right…
M: I didn’t even get into Paradiso
A: How come?
M: Too late to get a ticket…you have to have a ticket.
A: Oh…
M: So this is it.
A: One’s better than none?
M: Yup.
A: So you’ve just come down today from Norwich have you?
M: I came down two days ago.
A: Okay.
[PAUSE]
A: What’s Norwich like?
M: Sleepy.
A: Sleepy. [BOTH LAUGH]
[SHORT PAUSE]
M: We have our annual excitement, which is the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and it’s really good.
A: What’s that?
M: That’s a proper international festival.
A: Great…
M: Stronger on music than anything else.
A: Okay…
M: And it coincides with teaching…it coincides with my exam period, so I’m always off...
A: What do you teach?
M: English and Drama.
A: Great.
M: That’s why I’m at this kind of thing!
A: Okay. What age group do you teach?
M: Secondary.
A: Secondary school. How’s that?
M: Tiring at my age…
A: Tiring…you been doing it for a while?
M: Uh ha…thirty three years.
A: Wow…so you know what to do then?
M: In theory…
Are you a regular comer here?
A: Yeah I am, yeah. I came and saw the other show.
M: Which was…
A: Inferno.
M: Which was good?
A: Um…yeah.
M: Sort of three star…most of the critics seemed to three star it.
A: Oh, you read the reviews. Did you find them good?
M: I though they were interesting reviews.
A: Did they help you?
M: Well I know what I’m going to get. I’ve been around…
A: So you know his work do you?
M: I’ve looked him up, yeah. Still I hope I’ll see something English here sometime…
[PAUSE]
A: I think we’ve got quite good seats here.
M: This is nice actually…yeah.
A: We are sort of on the bend. A bit of side and a bit of front.
[BOTH LAUGH]
A: Sorry…I’ve completely distracted you from you book.
M: Well I was kind of thinking reading some De Sade would get me in the mood for it.
A: Okay…though I mean it is a tricky time to be getting into a book?
M: Yeah I wouldn’t normally be doing this but…
A: You just got it…
M: It’s just arrived and its been on order for two months…so I’ve been rearing to go. It’s either that or being really poncey and reading the French newspaper. But I won’t be poncey.
A: Are you a French speaker?
M: Yeah…
A: How come you read the French newspaper?
M: I just love France.
A: Oh right…
M: So I go over there…for the festival in Paris during the summer, which is hugely subsidised. It’s 10 euros for the maximum ticket price.
A: That’s fantastic.
M: But I couldn’t afford to go last year. They have bizarre things…if you think this is bizarre…they had ummm…you came out of the theatre in an immense industrial estate and you got in a truck, with a Bulgarian…truck driver…who drove you though industrial Paris explaining what it was like to be an economic migrant.
A: And how was that?
M:I didn’t go…because I was too poor to go…
A: Oh you couldn’t go…
M: They have that kind of theatre. And I saw…I can’t remember what the guy’s name is…ummm…but he does theatre…it’s like twenty five minutes of stage machinery – performing…
A: Oh wow.
M: Yes! So battles between two kinds of ladders…ladders going…
A: So you do integrate this work with your teaching?
M: That kind of thing yes…I’m not allowed to mention this kind of thing.
A: Why?
M: Because it’s a bit explicit and over eighteen…
A: Really…
M: I’ll mention that I’ve been to it.
A: Who doesn’t allow you?
M: My boss!
A: The headmaster or headmistresses.
M: The headmaster.
A: The headmaster.
M: Well it is over eighteen…
A: I suppose.
M: I don’t see why not…I think it would be great if they could see it but…
A: These are nice…
M: Yep…it’s a good theatre…
A: Leather bound arm-rests.
M: I’ve done my back in so I’m glad that I’m at this theatre.
A: Good. Comfortable seat is it, for you?
M: Yeah…I should be going to the Orange Tree in Richmond tomorrow but that’s…that’s benches and my back is so painful…
A: Yeah…these are a bit better than benches. Its kind of different when you are on benches, isn’t it?
M: Yeah [M MAKES STRETCHING SOUND]
[LAUGH]
M: Right, I think it’s going to start soon.
A: Yeah…It’s filling up.
M: Yes I normally sit on the end of a row, but I couldn’t get the end of the row…so I knew it was pretty full.
A: Why do you do that?
M: So I can do things with my back in the middle of the performance.
A: Oh really! Well I’m not going to be worried if you do anything with your back. You can stretch…because I’m a bit of a fidget, I’ll be honest with you…
M: It was either going to the hospital today or coming here…but I paid for this so I thought ‘I’ll come here’.
A: What’s actually wrong?
M: Well I injured it…two and a half years ago – computer printer….and then I carried on working and I was putting lanterns up in the theatre and my back went completely, I couldn’t get out of bed for three days!
A: What happened with the computer printer?
M: Oh I just dropped it [OUCH] for the last two inches…and then my elderly mother yesterday…
A: It seems to be going a bit more quiet now…[WHISPERED]
M: She fell over and I had to pick her up…and I did my back in as we both ended up on the floor…
A: Oh dear!...Enjoy the show…
M: You too…
7.55pm
PURGATORIO
9.13pm
.jpg)
Superbo!
ReplyDeleteReally nicely woven.
It felt like a real journey.