After The Applause

A BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED PIECE OF THEATRE THAT DEMANDS TO BE SEEN

This experimental play may seem like a gimmick, with its cold read setup and basic staging. However it is not at all, Echo is a beautifully crafted piece of theatrical genius that demands to be seen. It takes the cold-read genre of theatre that we are seeing becoming increasingly popular and takes it to a new level. Truly a marvel and especially in the brilliant Royal Court Theatre, it just blew me away (even more the second time than the first).

The beauty of me seeing the play again is that I knew the format and what was coming next, but I revelled in the fact that the performer (Juliet Stevenson) had no clue. I paId more attention to the words and lines, all crafted splendidly by Nassim Soleimanpour, and I zoomed in further on the meaning of this play and what it represents.

Echo stands for Every Cold Hearted Oxygen, the title alone tells us to live and lead the life we wish to have, to strive for our dreams and relish the present. Soleimanpour lays out the bones of his life, his family and his situation and identity crisis with his Persian heritage, and the performer acts as his mouthpiece echoing and fleshing out his story. He looks at his father, his friends and his mother and he talks about finding a home. One of the most poignant scenes is right at the end when the actor talks to Nassim’s mother, acting as Nassim they have an emotive conservation on Nassim finding his way home and it is such a special and powerful moment. The actor sometimes stands behind a screen as projections of winter, summer, autumn and spring and the beauty of nature are painted on their body as they repeat the line ‘We are whispers from the past fading into the future’. Nassim tells his audience to simply live, to be in the present and fade slowly into the future as we see the seasons go by and grow older, it is such a simple message but it is done so amazingly.

One of the main centrepieces of the play is a Persian rug, Nassim explains to Stevenson that it is probably over 150 years old and it belongs to his family. He says that a rug grows value as we walk on it, as it becomes more worn its value increases because it is simply a tapestry of stories. ‘Every step, every footprint is another story’. A line that really resonated with me, this play is superb.

‘Why did Stevenson get an extra star compared to Corden?’, I hear you ask. Well, I love James Corden but it took him a little too long to understand the seriousness of this piece, maybe it was his way of shaking off nerves but his quick witted lines at the beginning definitely didn’t fit with the tone. Stevenson is a seasoned professional, she sits on the seat awaiting instructions, she waits to be transported and directed by Soleimanpour and behind her nervous eye is one of excitement. Every line is said with emotion, deep rooted emotion, she remembers the little details of the play and she uses that to enhance her performance. It is some superb work from Stevenson and as soon as the play finished i was immediately on my feet, she throughly deserved it. I’ve got to admit I didn’t know much about Juliet Stevenson but after what I saw last night, she’s got a new fan! Bravo Juliet!!

MY VERDICT:

Wow! I feel Echo is a play you could watch three or four times and never get bored. Even though it is the same lines, each actor takes you on a different type of journey. Corden’s was emotion mixed with humour, however, Stevenson’s was passion with doses of sincerity, and her awe at the words Nassim had written was evident. When this comes on tour I recommend it highly, a new concept mixed with superb lighting and projection with a sensational script, what more do you want! I want to go again, let’s see where the tour lands!

ECHO is finished at the Royal Court, it now embarks on a Tour with dates to be announced. Go and have a watch you will leave deeply moved!!