Willem Dafoe (photo by Lucie Jansch)
Abramovic's Belgrade
by Christian Baines
by Christian Baines
I’ll admit to approaching most ‘performance art’ pieces with caution. I find my mind quietly reciting the opening monologue from that great Canadian musical, The Drowsy Chaperone as though it were the rosary. ‘Please, don’t let it be too long, Lord’ and all that business. The presence of stars usually does little to alleviate my apprehension. At their best, they can really bring the piece to life. Or, they can be ego trips designed give a mediocre (or just plain awful) work a ‘get out of criticism free’ card.
Robert Wilson's production of The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic dispels any such fears before it even begins with an unforgettable opening image. Three figures lay sleeping, almost in death pose on stage. Around them, three large Dobermans fossick the stage for food in the dim, red light. Immediately, we are transported to a Balkan city under communist rule. Abramovic’s Belgrade. The tone is perfectly set for this telling of Abramovic’s life story, with an image that is at once both strikingly beautiful and inherently chaotic.
