Songs of Innocence and Experience (IATC review)
A Journey of Growing Up Etched in Stained Glass Windows
Should it showcase classic works to demonstrate performance techniques, or present a musical to highlight singing skills? Should it be an experimental performance based on a non-commercial model, or tailor a piece that documents the learning journey of the actors? How can we showcase the strengths of the performers? What about the choices of physicality, instruments, and multimedia? At this stage of growth, children might say, "I want it all!" "The Song of Innocence and Experience" boldly and greedily transforms what should be irreconcilable colorful fragments into a stained glass window for a church, telling a sincere and sacred story through a series of images.
Mastery of Live Video Techniques
I must confess that this is my first time appreciating a work from Rooftop Productions. Regrettably, I cannot compare it to their past experiences in music creation, live performance, real-time video, diverse texts, interdisciplinary approaches, and technology applications; my initial viewing can only be described as astonishing. From the opening scene reminiscent of a cinematic shot in "Neon Genesis Evangelion," with the color-changing block animations in sync with the rhythm, to the fixed camera capturing the actors' precise movements, the staging effectively coordinated character and text backgrounds. There were moments when actors entered the live band with their phones, elevating the atmosphere, and in the dark, they danced energetically with light sticks, creating a vibrant play of light and shadow. Even from a single song, one could see their technical mastery. The actors' engagement successfully energized the audience, their enthusiasm overshadowing any potential display of technical skill.
Just as a chef making tea must ensure it doesn't come off as showy, the quality of the tea itself must stand out; similarly, any technical skill or creativity must produce significant effects without appearing ostentatious. The entire play uses an overhead camera focused on a book on the floor, projecting its pages as part of the set. These famous paintings or portraits are calculated to overlap with the actors' figures; sometimes, pre-written lines or stickers serve as textual narration, eliminating some inaccuracies in timing and positioning. The effects of the real-time video consistently amazed me, prompting me to watch the "making of" footage that captured the actors' thoughts during live recording. There were also unexpected ideas, such as creating gravity-defying movements through animation-like transitions, or actors stepping outside the theater while live-streaming, only to discover the venue was empty upon their return, revealing it was a pre-recorded seamless edit. The use of montage and multi-angle shots achieved a film-like precision, which is particularly remarkable on a stage where accidents are easily prone to occur.
Innocence: The Art of Sincere Revelation
Beyond the technical performance, the content is also rich. Thanks to the pandemic, the rehearsal time for Songs of Innocence and Experience extended to nine months, compared to the usual three, allowing for more meticulous work. The decision to develop a piece from scratch allowed the director to facilitate the actors' creative freedom, encouraging them to write texts, compose music, and express themselves without preset notions—only providing some reading materials to stimulate creation. Ultimately, the narrative structure of "Paradise Lost" was chosen by the actors, as its themes resonated most with their own creative journeys, forming a dual narrative structure: one side reflecting the myth of Jehovah and Lucifer, and the other showcasing the actors stepping out of their roles to tell their own stories.
Typically, self-expressive performances are crafted under a director's established model to excavate the actors' inner selves, often resulting in focus groups that amplify personal emotions. This time, the director used multiple literary classics as guides, allowing for continuous writing, experimentation, and rewriting, helping each actor find their voice and explore the most comfortable modes of expression. They recorded dialogues on themes of growth, making the performance organically improvisational. Not every actor needed to bare their souls; some shared their growth journeys, challenges under environmental pressures, concerns about the future, or changes in family relationships, while others simply wanted to sing and dance without words—why not? Each actor has different qualities; not everyone needs to expose their innermost feelings. The freedom to choose what and how to express themselves truly reflects the actors' desire for performance and showcases their various forms of sincerity. Allowing for such autonomy and sincerity is a genuine respect for the actors.
The downside of this approach is the presence of numerous segments with vastly different styles. Although there were adjustments during the creation process, Songs of Innocence and Experience primarily presents their segments artistically, incorporating multiple songs and lyrics into the live performance, along with personal photos and objects interacting with real-time video. Rather than aiming for a unified style, this artistic presentation offers actors the opportunity to express themselves across artistic disciplines, culminating in a vibrant collage akin to a kaleidoscope.
Experience: A Fusion of the Hymns and Anime Music
Against such a colorful backdrop of actors' confessions, the director did not opt for a blank slate; instead, they infused a variety of colors into the production. The personal stories were elevated into grand concepts, linked to the religious imagery of "Paradise Lost," serving as a thread throughout the performance. Depending on the unique traits of each actor, they embodied the deities from "Paradise Lost," allowing text and creation to unfold mutually during rehearsals, ensuring that even when roles and actors did not fully merge, connections could always be found—almost like uncovering mythic archetypes through each actor’s growth journey. Many moments featured operatic choruses singing hymns, creating a sense of ritual. The performance's most magical aspect was that different actors chose the songs they wanted to sing, resulting in not just hymns but also pop music, original songs featuring rap, and even anime songs like "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" and the themes from "Digimon." This eclectic style, alongside the continued use of real-time video, was meticulously arranged in both the musical composition and choreography, with the live band’s performance and the actors' passionate involvement maintaining rhythmic energy across such a wide range of songs.
Songs of Innocence and Experience combines the textual structure of "Paradise Lost," the actors' personal confessions, diverse live performances, and the intricate real-time video elements. Through careful intertextual arrangement, imagery connections, color collages, and real-time editing, it remarkably achieves a high degree of balance and completeness: a true representation of contemporary theater in the age of technology. While its overwhelming beauty may occasionally lead to aesthetic fatigue, the actors' nine months of effort, years of accumulated learning, and present enthusiasm culminated in a graduation performance that could only happen once in a lifetime, making it a truly memorable experience.
Automatically translated from the original review published in Chinese.
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Originally published in: IATC (HK). We create a mirrored version of reviews and articles about our shows for archival purposes, so that we can retain a version if the original disappears. We always link to the original publisher and credit the author. However, if you are the owner of this material and you would like us to remove it, please get in touch.