a serpentine narrative that tantalisingly encrypts meaning...

****

An adaptation of Ben Okri's book 'The Comic Destiny', this show is a gritty experimental piece that confronts the turbulence of our world. The show flickers between the rehearsal process and the finished product to highlight the softening boundaries between actor and character. Indeed by displaying the effect characterisation and performance has upon them, the audience is forced to feel similarly affected. Consequently the play has a serpentine narrative that tantalisingly encrypts meaning. The acting was faultless and utterly convincing, particularly David Johnstone's presentation of a bipolar lunatic that alters between timidity and wickedness. The philosophical subject matter is at times a little exhausting but only because of its sheer profundity and depth.

tw rating 4/5 [Paige Wilson]

www.threeweeks.co.uk

Some press snippets on The Comic Destiny

'smashing performances... innovative… arresting but oblique... beautifully lit...  The Scotsman

'acting power and a boldness of experimentation that is seriously impressive' Broadway Baby

'the play has a serpentine narrative that tantalisingly encrypts meaning. The acting was faultless and utterly convincing' Three Weeks

Lazzi take The Comic Destiny to Riverside Studios, London

Lazzi presents Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny

Press release

Riverside Studios, London

Tuesday 4 – Sunday 9 September 2012 7.30pm, mat at 2pm on Saturday

Press night Tuesday 4 September, with reception with Ben Okri

‘A truly extraordinary and rich, and wild, and fascinating production. I am tempted to call it the theatre of risk.’

- Ben Okri

(commenting on the opening performance at the Edinburgh Fringe)

Fresh from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, Lazzi bring their production of Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny to Riverside Studios, London.

Ben Okri’s story confronts the violence and the predatory nature of our world through a cast of characters each with their own disturbing histories and personalities. It is an intense, surreal piece with touches of dark humour throughout: ‘…the play has a serpentine narrative that tantalisingly encrypts meaning’ (Three Weeks). Edinburgh reviewers have particularly noted the high standard of the acting in the piece and the experimental approach of the company: ’acting power and a boldness of experimentation that is seriously impressive' (Broadway Baby), 'smashing performances… innovative’ (The Scotsman), ‘the acting was faultless and utterly convincing’ (Three Weeks).

Ben Okri approached Director David WW Johnstone to adapt The Comic Destiny in 2010. He was looking for a director prepared to take risks, for a company that might bring a fresh insight to his piece. His original story has been abridged for this adaptation, and despite the apparent improvisational nature of the acting, all words spoken on stage are taken directly from his text. No one performance is quite the same, and the process of adaptation appears to happen afresh each night before the audience’s eyes.

Lazzi weave a variety of influences, drawn from Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, and commedia to Dada, Grotowski and Kantor, and bring elements of all of these to Ben Okri’s abstract world of patriarchs, skeletons and imps, asylum escapees and a young couple seeking more loving arguments.

Director David WW Johnstone says, ‘Lazzi likes to delve into the rough and raw edges of theatre. Whether working with comedy or tragedy, I like to ask the audience to experience a courageous experiment on the part of the performers. Our piece starts with the actors themselves gathering to rehearse. How will they adapt and interpret the text? I wanted Lazzi to take Ben Okri’s story and show how the borderline between actor and character can dissolve in unexpected ways. The characters of the piece can be gloriously oblivious to our attempts to restrain them – the process of adaptation itself must be released into their hands. Further insight was gained from comparing the relentless suffering in the myth of Sisyphus, where he is forced to roll a stone up a hill only for it to endlessly fall back down, with the film of Laurel & Hardy attempting to deliver a piano and having to push it up endless steps, with the inevitable comic consequences (http://youtu.be/UWm0nXJYLmk). Both have a futility, yet one torments us, the other makes us laugh. Both speak of the human condition – and slapstick is a somewhat violent art. Navigating the line between pessimism and optimism is a fragile path and our piece explores this human dilemma.’

Ben Okri will be present at the opening, and at an after-show reception. Both Ben Okri and David WW Johnstone are available for interviews relating to this project.

The Comic Destiny is a novella from Tales of Freedom, by Ben Okri, published by Rider Books (Random House) in 2009.

Thinking about Laurel & Hardy and other things

A few introductory thoughts from Director David WW Johnstone about Lazzi's adaptation of The Comic Destiny...

Lazzi likes to delve into the rough and raw edges of theatre. Whether working with comedy or tragedy, I like to ask the audience to experience a courageous experiment on the part of the performers. 

Our piece starts with the actors themselves gathering to rehearse. How will they adapt and interpret the text? I wanted Lazzi to take Ben Okri’s story and show how the borderline between actor and character can dissolve in unexpected ways. The characters of the piece can be gloriously oblivious to our attempts to restrain them – the process of adaptation itself must be released into their hands.  

Ben Okri’s story The Comic Destiny confronts the violence and the predatory nature of our world through a cast of characters each with their own disturbing histories and personalities. Lazzi needed to find a way to approach this unsettling text – why and how might a company fond of commedia do this? Some insight was gained from comparing the relentless suffering in the myth of Sisyphus, where he is forced to roll a stone up a hill only for it to endlessly fall back down, with the film of Laurel & Hardy attempting to deliver a piano and having to push it up endless steps, with the inevitable comic consequences. Both have a futility, yet one torments us, the other makes us laugh. Both speak of the human condition – they are surreal and absurd... and slapstick is a somewhat violent art. 

Like the characters in the story we are all looking for a special place where we can start afresh - although often just as we discover it we realise it too is about to be torn down. Navigating the line between pessimism and optimism is a fragile path.

If you haven't seen Laurel & Hardy with that piano... here it is... enjoy!:

Dead Souls - 'spontaneous and alive'

Our Edinburgh Fringe mini-run of Dead Souls is gathering some lovely feedback and very nice reviews.

Two shows now remaining at the Scotland Russia Forum
Friday 10 August 7.30pm and Saturday 11 August 2pm
Scotland-Russia Institute, 9 South College Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AA

Here's The List Magazine's **** review:

David Johnstone celebrates Gogol’s masterpiece in his single actor adaptation Adapting a novel for the stage is always a challenge; especially so when, like Gogol’s Dead Souls, the focus lies in the psychology of characters rather than the action. In this case there is a big risk of making the adaptation either shallow or boring. However, David Johnstone from LAZZI art unit was brave enough to take the risk. The result is his one-man show in which he skilfully combines scenes from the novel with the writer’s diaries, resulting in a heartfelt and passionate monologue about Russia and its future.

The actor, Robert Williamson, shows wonderful powers of transformation, turning from Chichikov into Korobochka and from Korobochka - into Gogol himself in an instant. He manages to maintain high energy and a connection with the public throughout the hour-long show, thus keeping them constantly alert, wondering: which character will appear on stage next? Who will he speak to now? Will he scream? Laugh? Stand up and run out of the venue? (and yes he did...)

The intimate settings of Scotland-Russia Institute allow Williamson to physically interact with the audience, drawing them into Gogol’s world and transforming them into peasants, coachmen or landlords at the ball. These interactions make the performance truly unique every time, as Williamson has to react to the responses he gets. This is, partly, what makes the show feel so spontaneous and alive.

A member of the audience wrote on the LAZZI website later: ‘The passion, intelligence, quicksilver humour and Keaton-esque physicality of the performance are utterly un-British and make the almost hour-long show feel like 15 minutes.’ This is what is particularly striking about the adaptation: remarkably, being created and performed in Edinburgh, it feels as Russian as the original novel.
http://www.list.co.uk/article/44303-dead-souls/

And here's The Skinny's **** review:

A lively adaptation (in English) by David W W Johnstone of Gogol's masterpiece, as well as extracts from Gogol's writings about the work skilfully woven together. This production is a gem for Russophiles or anyone who loves physical theatre.

Robert Williamson is a versatile actor who plays all the characters with charm and verve: Chichikov, the scoundrel who buys dead souls, the various land-owners and Gogol himself, even involving the audience as bit players. Wearing a waistcoat over a white shirt, the only props he needs are a handkerchief for emotional moments, a notebook listing his bought dead souls, and a chair acting as his carriage, to conjure a world of bumpy roads across the vast tundra to crumbling estates owned by mean millionaire landowners (who make their serfs share only one pair of boots between them), or elegant soirées in St Petersburg, kowtowing to His Excellency, or an account of how the famous Chapter 6 was written in a noisy bar, singing as he writes, then bursting into hand-claps and stamping in Russian dance. The political message that the Russian soul needs to be free is lightly slipped in, but clearly this remains a tale suited to our times. http://www.theskinny.co.uk/theatre/reviews/302608-dead_souls_scotlandrussia_institute

Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny

Scottish Storytelling Centre

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 

Tuesday 14 – Sunday 26 August 2012

Lazzi bring their adaptation of Booker Prize winning author Ben Okri’s The Comic Destiny to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, followed by a London run at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith.

Lazzi Artistic Director David W W Johnstone’s new adaptation takes Ben Okri’s surreal fable – a world of patriarchs, skeletons and imps, asylum escapees and a young couple seeking more loving arguments – and uses it to explore the nature of storytelling and creative inspiration.

Highlights

• Major international author Ben Okri has chosen to work with the relatively unknown yet acclaimed experimental company Lazzi. 
• Ben Okri will be present at the opening, and at an after-show reception. He will also be available for interview about this project. 
• Lazzi will join Ben Okri on stage at the Edinburgh International Book Festival at 12pm on Tuesday, 21 August. 
• The production has already secured a post-Fringe London run at Riverside Studios. 

The Edinburgh-based Lazzi company is dedicated to bold experimentation and a highly improvisational style. Lazzi has gained a reputation for innovation with its striking and original theatre work. Previous productions include Witkacy Idiota (2005), and Oresteia (2008). Lazzi bring their trademark zany yet soulful humour to Ben Okri’s abstract story, weaving a variety of influences, drawn from Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy to Dada, Grotowski and Kantor. With their ability to embrace the surreal with an affectionate lightness, Lazzi are well-placed to interpret Ben Okri's strange story for the stage. The production is staged with a simplicity typical of Lazzi: minimal yet beautiful lighting and a bare stage, with a cast of three actors, in the intimate space of Scotland's premier year-round storytelling venue at the Netherbow.

Director David W W Johnstone says, ‘Lazzi likes to delve into the rough and raw edges of theatre. Whether working with comedy or tragedy, I like to ask the audience to experience a courageous experiment on the part of the performers. When Ben Okri approached me to think about adapting his piece for the stage I took a long time to work out how to go about it. Then I realised what the piece was about – for me – it was about the source of creative vision. What does it mean to create? What is it that holds us back? Are we trapped in our own methods? I wanted Lazzi to take Ben’s piece and show how the borderline between actor and character can dissolve in unexpected ways. The characters of the piece are gloriously oblivious to our attempts to restrain them – the process of adaptation itself must be released into their hands.’

Expect a little chaos and lots of soul, as Lazzi lovingly takes on the characters of Ben Okri’s imagination.

Previous productions:

Oresteia

‘...the performance has a physical, aural and visual intensity that burns itself onto the mind. …one of the most compelling and haunting pieces of theatre created in Scotland this past year’ Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

‘...intense, demanding and quite possibly the most adventurous and unique piece of theatre ever seen in Cumbernauld.’  The Herald

Witkacy Idiota

'…it’s a sheer joy to come across a performance so sweetly, confidently and unashamedly absurdist as this fine 70-minute tribute to the life and work of the troubled Polish artist, playwright and thinker, Stanislaw Witkiewicz. … a simple but surprisingly beautiful-looking show that makes powerful use of coloured light, shadow and movement.' Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman

Notes:

Lazzi is based in Edinburgh. It operates as a form of arts lab drawing performers from different disciplines. Working on The Comic Destiny project are dancer Charlotte Jarvis, who featured in Lazzi's Aurora Borealis (Dancebase, 2008) and actor Robert Williamson who stars in Lazzi's recent adaptation of Gogol's Dead Souls (2012).

David W W Johnstone is the founder and artistic director of Lazzi. He was the protégé of legendary Polish actor/director Leonidas Dudarew-Ossetynski, and through this connection he also studied with Ryszard Cieslak, leading actor with Grotowski’s theatre. Other work ensued with Georges Bigot and Ariane Mnouchkine of Le Theatre du Soleil in Paris. He was born in Washington State, USA, and has lived in Scotland since 1991.

Ben Okri has published 10 novels, including the Booker Prize winning The Famished Road, as well as collections of poetry, short stories and essays. His work has been translated into more than 20 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been awarded the OBE as well as numerous international prizes, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Africa, the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction and the Chianti Rufino-Antico Fattore. He is a Vice-President of the English Centre of International PEN and was presented with a Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. He was born in Nigeria and lives in London. Ben Okri’s latest collection of essays, A Time for New Dreams is published by Random House. http://benokri.co.uk/

The Comic Destiny is a story from Tales of Freedom, by Ben Okri, published by Rider Books in 2009.

Both David W W Johnstone and Ben Okri are available for interviews relating to this project.

The Scottish Storytelling Centre is the world’s first purpose-built centre for storytelling, right on the Royal Mile. The award-winning Netherbow Theatre and Storytelling Court spaces host live storytelling, literature, theatre, children’s and visual arts events.

Riverside Studios aims to be London’s pre-eminent space for risk, inspiration and creativity in the arts and media, in a setting which is energetic, internationalist and friendly. It is a unique arts and media centre on the banks of the Thames in Hammersmith, comprising two main performance studios, a cinema, a TV studio and production galleries, numerous offices and a large contemporary Restaurant and Bar, a Film Cafe and River Terrace. The theatre programme presents a mix of co-productions and international visiting work, often at the cutting edge of performance.

Performance dates and times:

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh

The Netherbow, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR3

Tuesday 14 – Sunday 26 August, 7pm (75mins)  £10/£8 

Tickets and information 0131 556 9579
http://www.scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk/

Opening night post-show reception, with Ben Okri, Tuesday 14 August 8.30pm

For ages 12+

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Box Office +44 (0)131 226 0000
http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/ben-okri-s-the-comic-destiny 

Lazzi will also join Ben Okri on stage at the Edinburgh International Book Festival at 12pm on Tuesday, 21 August.

Riverside Studios, London 

Crisp Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RL

Tuesday 4 September – Sunday 9 September, 7.30pm (75mins) £17/£15

Matinees at 2pm on Wednesday & Saturday

Tickets and information 020 8237 1111
http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/cgi-bin/page.pl?l=1338558255

http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/

Opening night post-show reception, with Ben Okri, Tuesday 4 September 9pm

Lazzi contacts:

David WW Johnstone 

0131 447 3077 / 07837978379

dwwjlazzi @ btinternet.com

http://lazzi-arts.blogspot.co.uk/
@lazziarts

Image 

Alice Boyle http://www.aliceboyle.co.uk

Image of Ben Okri http://www.darrenfilkins.com 

Ben Okri's The Comic Destiny

LAZZI's new production of Ben Okri's The Comic Destiny is soon to go on sale...

at both The Scottish Storytelling Centre, Netherbow Theatre for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
and Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London.

Also, we'll be making a short appearance with Ben at the Edinburgh Book Festival
Tuesday, 21 August at 12 noon.

Our production of Ben Okri's surreal fable is a dreamlike fantasy
populated by imps, tyrants, schizophrenics and lovers.

The Comic Destiny appears in Ben's book Tales Of Freedom, Rider Books, 2009.

Stage adaptation and direction by David W W Johnstone
and featuring actors Charlotte Jarvis and Robert Williamson.

Edinburgh run is 14 - 26 August 2012 nightly at 7 pm.

London run opens 4 September 2012 nightly at 7.30 pm
             with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2 pm.