Traumatikon is certainly ambitious in scope. A 26-strong cast creates vignettes within a café and circus setting, using figures from history including Robert Mugabe, Muhammad Ali, Frida Kahlo and Virginia Woolf. Counter-Active cite the work of Tadeusz Kantor as an influence: the piece was produced in collaboration with two former members of Cricot2. It also aims to evoke Russian constructivist theatre, Dadaism and the performance art of Kurt Schwitters.
This is not necessarily clear from the performance, however. For the audience, a character might be an astronaut (but not Neil Armstrong), flamenco dancer, half-naked woman or two very angry girls chained up in some sadomasochistic routine with a mad ringmaster. The initial scenes suggested carnage in the early 20th century (lost husbands, morphine with coffee, emotional scars), but narrative threads became increasingly elusive.
Traumatikon does have an intense, stylised visual language that is perhaps something of a rarity in the UK (a comparison point might be The Orpheus Complex by Théâtre de l’Ange Fou). There were nice moments, such as the framing of the Freya story; gutsy performances, for example from the flamenco dancer or head waitress; and some humour, as in the Lady Marmalade parody. However, at the risk of showing ignorance and arrogance, Traumatikonseemed heavy and unwieldy too. Some aspects came across as sententious, indulgent or muddled.
The initial strains as we were led up the Summerhall steps were tuneful enough, but the music could encroach, with cloying piano and violin tuning. The sound was built around surreal combinations, suggesting Wagner and gibberish, Joplin and Moulin Rouge, the ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ then the ‘Song of the Volga Boatmen’, and possibly ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ with the didgeridoo.
The determination to explore unusual styles has to be admired, and arguably the work was built on strong intentions. However, I found the piece too disparate and intense. Sometimes it felt like watching a degree show after losing the syllabus. And although the size of the cast justified some of the choices, Traumatikon was perhaps also a little long, so the grand finale did not come too soon.