FRINGE 2006 FEEDBACK

*****(five stars) Mesmerizing!
"A tour de force! Elegantly choreographed with minimal props. The actors captivated the audience by representing a multitude of characters, both individuals and groups. The piano accompaniment and chanting were haunting, and the chorus narrative provided cohesiveness. The use of physical acting to depict underwater swimming, sleeping, storms was skillful and evocative. The actors displayed passion and an enormous range of versatility in the numerous characters they each played. They were utterly convincing. One of the most original plays we have seen - ever. Congratulations.
- Kirsty and Parents, France

*****(five stars) Outstanding
One of the best I've seen on the Fringe this year. The physicality is precise, the intentions clear and the staging elegant. Bravo!
-Richard Ballon, USA

*****(five stars) go see it
This was one of the best shows that ive seen in the fringe this year. This show contains some exellent moments of physical theatre a displays the talents of the actors to multirole. The live music in the show had a touching effect on all the key moments in this stienbeck story. i recommend this play not only to fans of the novel but to anyone who enjoys good theatre.
-Ralph Thompson, United Kingdom

***** (five stars) A must see!
My dad and i had read the book, but we couldnt remember much of it. We liked the play because the actors were very focused on the parts throughout and switched very fluidly between the main parts and other smaller parts. Simple but effective props and a bare set brought to life by the 5 actors and the piano accompaniment. The tiny studio made this a very intense and worthwhile experience. You get a chance to talk to the actors in the bar afterwards. Try to get a seat on the front row!
-Jane, Emily and Graham, United Kingdom

****(four stars) devastatingly beautiful
Split Knuckle bring to life the family, the community and the villans in a fantastically fluid fashon. The sense of space, time and place come acros very clearly, which is no mean feat. faithful to the story the play takes you on a devistatingly beautiful journey with a clear message to all of us.
-Simon Bonsall, Scotland

*****(five stars) Gripping and beautiful
"I am a fan of Steinbeck and was interested to see this staging. This is a wonderful performance that translates the text and brings the audience into the world of the pearl. Simple staging and thoughtful effects together with the strong performers transformed the studio space at Hill Street Theatre. A must see in my opinion."
-Monica Olson, United Kingdom

*****(five stars)
"This was a very good adaptation of Steinbeck’s original book hitting all the key points. It is a story, which has lasted the test of time, and this performance did it justice. For those who do not know the story this is a very good introduction to the work. Well done! Poignant, thought provoking and simply very good."
-bob corrieri, United Kingdom

"I would never have the imagination to bring Steinbeck's story to life with only ropes and buckets. It was an excellent piece of theatre"
-Edinburgh Native

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM BUENOS AIRES

"The family, the town, the church, the rich and the poor. The water,the trees, the wind and the mountains. Greed, struggle, love…the whole world in a playas beautiful as a shining pearl."
--Lucila Gueron, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Co-founder, Sur Despierto Dance Studio

"Your show is an honor to my theater."
--José Mari Lopez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Director and Founder, Kumis Teatro

PRESS REVIEWS

THE SCOTSMAN REVIEW
In his best-know works, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck produced two of the great social fables of Depression-era America. With his later novella The Pearl, he embraced a more self-conscious sense of myth. Although set in Mexico, it's an archetypal folk tale, applicable to any country where an improverished indigenous population is at the mercy of moneyed immigrants. So the stylized, almost ritualistic staging adopted by Split Knucklers for this adaptation is entirely appropriate.

This group, Split Knuckle Theatre, named after a line from The Pearl, includes performers from several countries -- and it becomes apparent before a word is spoken that they know what they are doing.

The show begins with the cast sifting their fingers through buckets of sand and water: these elemental props--together with ropes, sticks, cloth and the performer' bodies and voices--form the world in which the drama takes place. The sense of ritual is enhanced by choral narration, suggestive of Greek tragedy, with which Steinbeck's tale shares a sense of unavoidable suffering inflicted by vindictive gods.

The story centres on a young peasant couple, Kino and Juana, whose baby son Coyotito is stung by a scorpioin. Kino needs money to hire the odious overprivileged doctor who can save his child, so he dives for oysters, praying for a pearl to sell.

When he finds the biggest, purest pearl the world has every seen, it seems like a miracle, and the child is duly healed. But the pearl exerts an unforseen malignant influence on Kino, Juana, and everyone else they encounter, ultimately destroying everything of value in their lives.

The five performers work in impeccable harmony, bringing every moment of the story into perfect focus. An individual character is deftly sketched, plays out his role, then blends into the group, later emerging as another character--a formula well-suited to a story in which the town itself is a living organism.

The same techniques are applied to staging and sound effects. A brewing storm is suggested by actors posing as trees bending in the wind, or flapping the costumes of other actors, or simply whistling through their teeth.

Directed by Juan Mora this resourceful and intellingent production transforms Steinbeck's tale into an elegant, humorous and tremendously moving drama.

-Andrew Burnet

EDINBURGH GUIDE REVIEW
Split Knuckle Theatre are a very talented company, if this devised adaptation of Steinbeck's The Pearl is anything to go by. I started my reading with Steinbeck; "The Red Pony" was the first novel I ever enjoyed. It has been noted by many that the purpose of his work was to make men understand each other. Steinbeck wrote timeless morality tales, this company have choosen a story which provokes a lot of thought on things Steinbeck to be preoccupied with - things which still trouble us today.

Highlighting the greed of Western so-called "democracy", assimilation of native culture and the opression and absolute power of organised religion, this production springs up with so much renewed life and dimension, it adds even more urgency to the issues. Split Knuckle's polished production is physical and atmospheric and almost completely technology-less, and so truly brings us back to the roots of storytelling.

Kino is a young Bolivian husband and father eagar to provide a good life for his infant son. But his son is stung in the shoulder by a scorpion and the continental doctor will not treat a mere pearl diver's son, so Juana, Kino's wife prays for him to find the legendary "Pearl Of The World" to pay for the treatment - and he does. Then he finds out about his own human ability to be cruel, ruthless, greedy and violent while being manipulated by others and a paranoid obsession develops. It is not difficult to find the moral in this story but to really be made to think about it takes a special production.

With even the most tiny sound effects and set requirements provided onstage by the performers themselves - using very few props - the production captivates. The religion, the culture and the politics are all represented in various forms - even in the set and the blocking. Apart from oddly Richard Clayderman's "Ballade Pour Adelaine" being played during seating, the music was very well integrated into the performance and set the atmosphere well.

Most importantly, the performers themselves are each individually endearing - I even had to dry my eyes after the tragic conclusion as Eva Sirp who plays the young mother - Juana - cries her heart out.
©Lauren McKie 9 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com.