Review: Everything Not Saved by Malaprop Theatre

What is memory? Why are we so obsessed with photos when they only represent us at that one precise moment? How can we trust our brains? Is Boney M's 'Rasputin' still a banger if you distort it? (The answer, of course, is yes; it's a classic). It's all pretty meta stuff. 

Everything Not Saved follows a similar pattern for the majority of the show. The audience are confronted with questions, the next scene bounces off them and then raises problems of its own. The brutal honesty of the performance is incredibly challenging. It verges on making you feel small and insignificant, but it's a fascinating and original perspective on life. 

And then it just descends into madness. Bizarre, unexplainable madness. The point of the piece is thrown away, giving way to bemusement, as though the whole thing has been bit of a gimmick until this moment. Any deeper thinking feels like it has been an investment too far. Perhaps the audience are the punchline.

You can't fault the performances of Breffni Holahan, Maeve O’Mahony and John Dornan, though. Characters may only appear for a few minutes but they're all three-dimensional, cleverly crafted people. You know you're watching actors that are a cut above the rest. That's probably what makes the ending quite so frustrating – there's so much talent on stage but they undermine it by choosing to go out all guns blazing.

 

 

Malaprop Theatre are also performing Jericho at Underbelly from the 15th August.