DESPOILED SHORE MEDEAMATERIAL LANDSCAPE WITH ARGONOUTS: The Border Project

Queen's Theatre, Until June 29

Reviewed by Stephen House

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THIS first production by Adelaide ensemble The Border Project is an experimental work by acclaimed German writer Heiner Muller that dissects the Greek classic Medea using three distinct texts.

Director Sam Haren uses a chaotic combination of visual imagery, wildly frantic sounds, live music, performance art, movement and tightly choreographed robotic dance to create an emotional, sometimes uncomfortable but often engaging theatre experience.

The presentation divides monologues between seven live actors and the virtual performers on three TV screens that dominate the show.

The barrage of words is accompanied by a lot of fast-paced physical business, such as an on-going, rhythmic basketball game and an assortment of stunts including whip-cracking and visual trickery.

The words often get lost amid the bedlam. Despite that, feelings and ideas related to the human condition steadily seep through, with some impact.

A poorly crafted Lindy Chamberlain segment, complete with a stuffed dingo, adds some fun to Muller's work, though it tends to jar rather than benefit the show.

This crazy cutting-edge ride certainly leaves one thinking, even if the object isn't exactly clear.