DECADENCE

Powerfully performed two-hander with intense drives of passion and pursuance, and a cast that keeps the writing riveting! (Review by Shika Budhoo)

Decadence is a two-hander starring Emily Child and Scott Sparrow, written by Steven Berkoff and directed by Christopher Weare. It’s a Fringe production on at the NG Kerk Hall on the National Arts Festival. I was pleasantly surprised by this piece, I felt myself being lured in by the richness of the script and the ample performance from the duo. The script is highly stylized and the extremely poetic text allows the words of the play to dance to a rhythm set by the talented performers.

Decadence tells the story of two couples whose lives are linked, but each couple has their own established dynamic rooted in extreme wants and needs, both emotional and physical. Helen and Steve are a couple, and Les and Sybil are the other couple. In this story Sybil is married to Steve, but is sleeping with Les, the private detective investigating her husband’s deceitful ways. From this it is evident that the conventions are thrown out the window in this piece, and the focus becomes the secrets, the cravings, the needs and wants of people who indulge themselves in their wants and say things the ‘ordinary’ people only think.

The four characters are played by the two performers with mastery. Child and Sparrow snap between the two characters they each play with impressive skill. They both deliver captivating performances of complex text in monologue and dialogue. Personally, I enjoyed Emily Child’s precision in performance, the way words and ideas were placed with ease in certain recesses of our attention by the slight shift of energy and eye.

Decadence is minimalist in set with one white couch and black walls; and it uses classic costume evening wear: a little black dress and a suit and bow tie; which successfully add to the stark nature of the play. The actors interact with the entire stage in true mime style, using their bodies and the space to tell the whole story. I especially enjoyed the unconventional physical levels activated on stage in certain sections that complimented the multi-layered world of the play. I loved the way this play made the pleasures of modern and ancient life succulent in their performance. Powerfully physical and instinctual in need and indulgence; hunger and sexuality being two of the strongest drives. – Shika Budhoo