Jake Mace
Savvina Romanou-Pylli’s ode to our society’s constant need for productivity tears a hole through the human psyche and asks us to bear witness. It’s a demanding piece of work for the audience – to experience not just frenetic and often distressing movement performed by Romanou-Pylli, but too an element of tedium and repetition that will likely alienate some and make others engage with the piece’s core question – what is there to be done when you feel like you can’t do anything at all?
A near endless recital of this core message comes in the form of ritual and compulsion. The script evokes a rich sense of the human experience – mental health, gender, passions, hobbies – alongside the rituals we must complete every day to have a sense of entropy, of moving forward through our lives. The endless piling up of things to do played sensitively alongside the people we are expected to be – productive, healthy, active. Doing everything required of us to be a ‘productive’ member of society is not just a chore but a weight that we must carry. The public becomes the personal, and the personal the public dialectically so.
There’s something righteously intimate about Romanou-Pylli’s choice of setting, largely the bedroom of our nameless main character. As she trips and tumbles around the piles of waste that have collected on the floor in a rhythmic, covering the entire traverse stage set, we witness her brush against the mess she has created. There is intention in every sweep of the foot, and as the crisp packets, pill bottles, wrappers and clothes are swept around the stage we see a body that wants to create art juxtaposed against the very literal boundaries of the mundanity of life, and the cage of mental health crises.
Catharsis arrives in the form of a lipstick our character used to wear out to jazz dances – invoking her to revisit her passions and desire for intimacy. The same movement that appeared constrained by boundaries actively defies it, as we unpack the previous life of our now reclusive character that is stuck in a very human rut. Romanou-Pylli delivers this shift with verve and intention, and as the garbage continues to pile on top of her we see an astonishing monologue delivered breathlessly.
Certain moments drag in this piece, seemingly with the full resolve of pushing the audience into their own minds and at certain points, to weariness with the lack of motion and repetition. In the moments we are given for reflection, such as witnessing the performer consume a whole banana with peanut butter, I have no doubt some will feel a little lost. I chose to take this piece as not simply a narrative one but as live art, an experience that chooses when to strike and does so often with precision. While certain moments could likely be sharpened down or shortened, the overall impact of the message is sustained through Romanou-Pylli’s convincing and polished performance.
Paired with the visceral physical performance, a projection throughout both interprets and interlaces the Greek language script, and at times punctuates moments using this device for humour and onomatopoeia. Other than increasing accessibility, the projection is delivered tightly and used well in addition to the performance to add to the frenetic nature of the message.
Sharp, unflinching and performed dazzlingly throughout, this is an intriguing and potentially divisive concept that packs a punch with its strong expressive message about the draining nature of pursuing productivity.
Recommended Drink: Pair this with a Melon Collie Martini – smooth, rich, and bright.
You can catch When life gives you garbage as part of Catania OFF Fringe Festival at Fabbricateatro – Sala Giuseppe di Martino every day until Sunday 26th October at various times (50min). Tickets are available through the Catania OFF Fringe Festival Online Box Office.
