The Object Lesson

102793 original

More of an experience than any kind of conventional show, The Object Lesson is exactly what you make of it. It rewards curiosity and patience, treating audiences with a respectful, laissez faire diffidence. We're more than welcome to arrive early and snoop through the many boxes cluttering what looks like a large storage room, and are even permitted to explore our surroundings during the performance itself if the mood takes us, but no-one forces us to do anything. It happens that Geoff Sobelle is a magnetic presence and has no problem recruiting assistants to aid him in this study of detritus, both physical and emotional.

He moves hypnotically while emptying out various containers, the contents of which will be used to reconstruct a living room in the middle of the venue. Audience members move freely about him in order to secure improved sightlines and there's a palpable sense of dynamism and possibility in the room. What appears to be a random assortment of junk is actually something understood and known intimately by the performer. He tells stories relating to the items on display, while others serve as context and background scenery for memories of failed relationships. Engrossed by this vague narrative, we follow Sobelle from one end of the room to the other, finally stopping in disbelief as he pulls off an enormous conjuring trick.