[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “The Slippery Knot – Or The Legend of Speedy Gardener” written by David Dickens, directed by Brandon Slezak, and running at the Whitmore Lindley Theatre through April 30.
There’s a delicate art to absurdist theatre. There must be total commitment to the story, the characters and the journey. An unflinching and steal nerved energy must radiate from every pore of every actor. And the audience must know going in that anything can and probably will happen…usually when least expected. At its best, it is a piercing commentary of the cruelty of the populist culture, the hopelessness of the downtrodden, and at it’s worst, it is ridiculous, ugly rubbish.
“The Slippery Knot – Or The Legend of Speedy Gardener” is an excellent example of absurdism at its best. In fact, I would suggest that this play pushes the genre even further, given that the plot is linear and some of the characters redeemable. It felt to me at times rather like an anime, some weirder version of a studio Ghibli film morphed into live action. With generals and school boys and a circus and a train. “Spirited Away” meets “Howl’s Moving Castle” meets “Castle in the Sky.”
The story is told as a memory about a school boy, Speedy, who is cruelly treated by Lord Montsune at his School for Demeaning Boys, to the point of torture and impending death. He is helped to escape by a friendly groundskeeper and sent on a journey to find a new life. He is further helped along the way by some more escapes, this time from a circus where they have been imprisoned for years and at the mercy of another cruel master, the vile Mrs. Stabbins. Together, this unlikely and unnatural cast of characters travel by train toward their destiny, all the while being pursued by Lord Montsune, who is rapidly and mysteriously aging, and his dastardly sidekick, the Colonel.
You either love absurdism or you hate it. I for one am a fan. But be prepared for a bit more meaning than many absurdist stories give. After all, the point of absurdism is that it doesn’t really have one. “The Slippery Knot” has a heart. There is form to the story and the characters and at least some of them are likeable. It’s a furiously paced piece. And the performances are perhaps a little too nuanced to be completely without meaning…which I prefer myself. Life is weird enough…so I was grateful for the closure.
Don’t you love that NoHo offers us such a variety of theatre? Comedy, classics, new work and old. The combined talents of David Dickens and Brandon Slezak as writer and director, along with the obvious dedication of the entire cast, deliver a play as unique as NoHo. A bit scruffy, a bit dirty, a bit brash, a bit dangerous…but full of life and heart and talent and possibilities.
If you have a penchant for the extreme, a leaning toward the existential and a yearning for the most entertaining elements of the irrational and the illogical, then “The Slippery Knot – Or The Legend of Speedy Gardener” is right up your alley!
Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-slippery-knot-tickets-593259223307
When:
Running through April 30. Friday and Saturday at 8.30pm, Sunday at 4pm
Where:
Whitmore Lindley Theatre
11006 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601
Cast:
Lauren Adlhoch as Speedy Gardener
David Dickens as Robert Gardener, One-Legged Man
Natalia as Ortega Mental Martha
Megan Colburn as Martha Gardener
Ayanda Dube as the Inspector
Talin Vartanian as the Colonel
Ian Michaels as Lord Montsune
Jacob Rumor as Mr. Skeams
Sarah as Reeves, Doctor’s Assistant 1, Horn Seller
Fatima Camacho as Pip, Doctor’s Assistant 2
Alex Rhind as Poor Nicholas, Guard 1, Scout
Marshall Glazier as Matters, Guard 2
Mackenzie Campbell as Paul, Station Manager
Libby Rose as Mrs. Stabbins, Pottifer, Sausage Maker
Kelvin Rim as Plombo, Musician, Town Crier
Jayden Jack as the Magician, Doctor
Isaac Tipton-Snyder as The Emptiness Clown
Max Zumstein as Mr. Plank
Alec Schiff as Mr. Whistler
Production Team:
Director: Brandon Sleezak
Playwright: David Dickens
Producer: David Dickens
Associate Producer: Antonia Czinger
Lighting Designer: Trevor Reece
Sound Designer: David Dickens
Set Designer: Jacob Rumor
Costume Designer: Antonia Czinger