OFFICEBlock Mixes Business and Pleasure
27 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: FTH:K, Liezl de Kock, Rob Murray, The Intimate Theatre
The school playground and the work pause area have much in common. For all our high-powered posing, working adults are really children at heart: just as silly, just as irreverent and, sometimes, just as brutal.
OfficeBLOCK – the latest offering from the integrated Deaf and hearing physical theatre group FTH:K – explores this idea. A series of snapshots set around a water cooler of ingenious (at times anthropomorphic) design, artistic director Rob Murray takes corporate cool to a whole new level.
The piece is a work-in-progress – a preview of a process that’s going to take FTH:K to Washington to collaborate with another integrated theatre team over the next year. Already, though, it shows much promise, with some inventive sequences and of course Murray’s signature style of exploring dark subject matter through an ostensibly playful physical approach.
Currently, the play takes the form of choreographed movement sequences that tell a tale of insiders and outsiders, of politics and power, of fitting in and speaking out. Featuring the talents of Christopher Beukes, Liezl de Kock, Sinethemba Mgebisa and Marlon Snyders, each vignette has a different title and distinctive feel.
For me, the “Boy’s Club” sequence – featuring the wonderful Liezl de Kock in a look at general gender politics in the office – was particularly powerful. In a scene that begins with a tease and ends with utter degradation, the message hit home like a fist to the face.
OfficeBLOCK is going to go through many changes before it arrives at its final form. As the vignettes develop and coalesce, I think it will come together into a more manageable and satisfying narrative shape. It’s always a privilege to see something develop, though, especially when the process is as enjoyable as this. Watch out for this one – it’s, quite literally, going places.
