Miranda July’s feature length film ‘Me and You and Everyone We Know’ is a beautiful and captivating meditation on the themes of love, isolation and art. Unspoken Agreement’s devised performance inspired by July’s work is not.
With six televisions, one video-camera and two actors onstage, this play tries in vain to capture the elegance and innocence to July’s film. Instead, everything—from the sparkly spandex costumes to the live-feed recording of the audience, the poignantly lyrical script to the narcissistic video diaries posing as art—seems far too aware of it’s own quirkiness.
The two eccentric characters, Rachel and Tom, are neighbours who spew the details of their lonely lives to the audience while the other sits only feet away, beyond residential walls. There are some pleasantly soothing moments of dance and the whole production has a meditative quality, but there are no new ideas in this piece. Though it’s supposed to be an innovative exploration of modern seclusion, when a character feels the need to explain Skype, the play already appears dated. It lacks the strength of plot, the compassion and the subtleties of July’s script, and watching it not quite achieve her charm made me wish I’d rented the film instead.
[Natasha Long]
Printer Friendly
