* on “Siren Song In 3 Parts”

Parvaneh Farid

http://www.latelierpapillon.co.uk/
writes on
“Siren Song In 3 Parts”
by
Joanna Jayne Bucknall
22nd October 2007

“She is a kind of woman…” is a haunting phrase that is imprinted on the mind of the audience, not only because of the image of “a kind of a woman” that is presented by the text, but also due to the artistry of the performers on the one hand, and the professional structure and stage management skills of the creator of the piece, Joanna Bucknall, on the other.

The performance took place inside an installation space, surrounded by black walls, floor and ceiling, lit by a dim light. This dominating dark atmosphere was interrupted by a single shade of red that painted a set of basic furniture and ornaments, required for a party as well as the evening dresses of two sleek female performers.


As we entered, we were welcomed by the creator and the performers who were casually moving across the room and mingling with the audience throughout the course of the event.


The atmosphere and the installation promised an interesting performance of an audience participatory nature. What struck me, however, was the potency of the texts that were read from time to time by the cast who randomly took over and diverted the casual and party-like flow of a game into a sophisticated and thought provoking image making exercise.

The narrative circled around the identity of a girl/woman who may live next door to you. A woman whose image and lifestyle may engage you in using your imagination and make you listen to the neighbourhood’s gossips about who she is and what she does behind the closed doors of her house as well as within the cavity of her mind.


She is portrayed as a kind of a woman that you develop a love-hate relationship with. A woman that is to be ignored, and yet she can make the neighbours peep through their curtains when she comes and goes. The kind of woman that you wish to move away from your neighbourhood, and yet if she does her presence and the colour that she used to bring to your empty life is missed. The kind of woman that you wish to meet but not get close to, like a mystery that you wish to discover and yet fear its consequences. These are the types of feeling and the patterns of thought that you take away with you after becoming a part of the process of this performance.

Room for improvement:
The reading skill of the performers and the way that they contributed to the drama, through their subtle body language and the tonality of their voices were commendable. In particular, I am thinking of Andy. The singing voices, however, could benefit from further training and techniques.

I would, perhaps, have enjoyed this work more if I could have left the venue with a clearer idea as to “why” I needed to be exposed to what I experienced.
Although, the female performers look stunning in their red evening costumes, their movement, posture and self presentation did not always go along with the image that they were expected to create. At times, some of them gave the impression that they did not know what to do with their bodies as they found themselves at the centre of attention with nowhere to hide. In other words, occasionally, they appeared as if they were still walking in their blue-jeans. That could be attributed to stage shyness or simply a factor that was overlooked.
The quality of the overall performance and the well thought out structure behind the work, however, managed extremely well to make up for these few small observations.