Sometimes it’s a good thing when a production is impossible to describe, but that’s not the case with Corpse Flower. The Threepenny Collective brings this Kafka-esque play to C Venues and with a packed out house on a Monday night, the best is to be expected. However, it held several tropes that make it a classic Fringe boondoggle. 

Corpse Flower opens with an overly expressive man in clown makeup, reminiscent of the Mayor of Halloweentown in The Nightmare Before Christmas. But his drunk acting, too-loud voice, and stilted joke delivery start the experience off with confusion instead of intrigue. Director Ilya Wray, along with playwright-directors Ariel de la Garza and Michal Vojtech are clearly going for a stylistic form of storytelling but they unfortunately miss the mark.

Between grandiose physicality, clown-like makeup, multiple story elements and plots, haunted music, shadow-play techniques and attempted comedy, there are too many different elements that don’t quite marry one another to tell the convoluted story. Corpse Flower follows Millie, played by Medea Manaz, an adept actor who effectively carries the show’s emotional core on her shoulders as Millie tries to save her mother from a mysterious illness.

As bugs slowly infect all those around Millie, she somehow evades the infestation herself, while being forced to deal with society’s decay around her. But with the lack of a clear plot—several other audience members also left confused — the message of Corpse Flower is hard to get across. 

If in a larger space with a bigger budget, the costumes, set, and lighting design of Corpse Flower could be a high point. The concept is admirable and difficult to execute. Unfortunately, the script and production just doesn’t live up to the idea. Some of the performances, however, are beautiful, with Lola Knight’s portrayal as the Auntie a high point. 

While the grotesque and macabre elements are evident and do add a bit of whimsy, with unclear plot and characterization, the concept feels a bit too convoluted to grasp.

Corpse Flower is at C Venues – C Aquila – temple until Sun 25 Aug 2024 at 21:55