Review-Einstein on the Beach-Hong Kong Arts Fest
9-3-13
By: Meaghan McGurgan
Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass is continually voted one of the most prolific pieces of theatre in the past thirty years, but it's an epic experience that you need to prepare yourself for. I've been lectured on this show several times in college and wanted to see the beast. It's been on my bucket list for years so I was quite excited to see it come to Hong Kong. I also really enjoy Robert Wilson's direction and his designs. I saw his Three Penny Opera two years ago and loved it.
This was a very hard show to write a review on as it's unlike any other theatre experience I've witnessed. It's an Opera of the absurd. You're not supposed to understand everything in it but enjoy it as a visual and audio experience.
This show is LOOOOONNNNNG. It's four and a half hours without an intermission. Most humans need a five minute bathroom break in the middle of a show of that length. You're free to come and go, so people are often standing up to leave. I did notice 1/4 of the audience was either gone or asleep by the end of the show. Although it's a beautiful piece, it's not for everyone. I heard the lady in front of me whisper, "So what's this thing about? It just keeps repeating itself over and over."
With four and a half hours of material, there's a lot to talk about. I loved the knee ballets. Especially the third one on the glass tables. It was simple in its execution and played a lot with shadow and light to make the bodies on the table appear larger. It had a very humorous ending despite the sweetness of the music. All the choir began brushing their teeth during the song and then smiled for us. Random silliness in what's overall a very serious piece. The choreography of Lucinda Childs is very good.
My favorite scene is the Rocket Ship. I think it's the most famous of the opera for a reason. The music is beautiful, the visuals are stunning and the use of light panels is pure genius - especially when you think it was created in 1976.
I love how everything blended together. The lights, the sets, the music, the odd assemblage of characters. Wilson's Texas Sky is apparent in the lighting of his cyc designs.
There is no plot to this story and most of the spoken words come together as nonsense (with the exception of the last scene). Repeating sounds, numbers and pop culture references appear in the text of the libretto. I think it's quite interesting to watch an opera with no plot. However, this show will not please traditional audience members who like their operas with plots, characters and suicides at the end. They will leave this show very confused.
Now for the one scene I didn't like. I had heard about it for years and I'm glad I got to see it. Bed or the Light Column scene as it is currently referred to in theatre design classes is the most famous example of "masturbatory design". (Masturbatory design is where a designer does something really ridiculous, just because it's complicated, and she/he wants you to be impressed by how fabulous they are.) You sit in the theatre for ten minutes and a piece of scenery goes from lying down, to standing up, to out of the space. The singing during this section is beautiful, I'm not going to knock that. But I have to agree with all my college professors that this scene is the most over the top of the play. Wilson has us watch scenery move for ten minutes. And then people clapped...for the light column. WTF?! I was personally bewildered by that scene...
If you have tickets for Einstein, you're lucky. It's been sold out for weeks. I hope people will go to this show and enjoy it for what it is. Historically, it's a very important show for the world of theatre. I'm happy I got to see it. It's an epic experience that is truly unique. Albeit, a little confusing...
Einstein on the Beach is sold out! For more information, click here.
Comments
girlie
I actually didn't like it as much as I thought I would. It is impressive for being made in the seventies but it seems a bit over the top and dated.
09 March 2013Adam
I wanted to like it but the whole thing came across as pretentious. I know it's Einstein and I'm supposed to be blown away by it- but I actually got fed up with it by the prison scene.
10 March 2013Spectator
I managed to stay awake and not even take a bathroom break. Bizarre but enjoyable opera, I thought the solos (violin, soprano & sax) were excellent.
11 March 2013Jax
The violin player was amazing!!!!
11 March 2013Neil
After an hour I decided that cocktails at the Pen would be a far better way to spend the evening.
02 April 2013
Theatre with no Drama