Showing @ Dance Base then touring click here for full listings
Over the years X Factor has taken hostage of the phrase “journey”, as week after week we hear Coldplay in the background of an emotional but ultimately ridiculous montage. But if one person knows the true meaning of such a word it is Henry David Thoreau. Walden is Nicholas Bone’s adaptation of his original novel which laments of the unnecessary materialism we are so heavily reliant on and the ultimate stability of nature.
Thoreau (Cameron Mowat) built himself a sparse but sufficient hut on the edge of Walden Pond in Massachusetts and did not return to civilisation for 26 months. He was a Philosophy lecturer at the time of his self-discovery and it therefore comes as no surprise that the play is rich in the exploration of solitude and contentment.
With only the capacity to seat 30 people, an immediate intimacy was created and through Mowat’s performance this was successfully maintained. The minimalist and stylish staging worked in showing the importance of naturalism as well as attempting to put focus on the single performance. Such an open space meant that how we perceived other peoples reactions was just as important as our own. Mowat delivers the role with a sensual confidence emphasising Thoreau’s sincere connection with the words he spoke and the nature he was so close to. However, despite so much in its favour the script leaves little to the imagination and does not stretch our intelligence as much as it should have or indeed wanted to. At times the production verged on martyrdom as the endless views on the world were offered with little justification. The play’s preoccupation to achieve more than just ‘theatre’ became an idea impossible to live up to.