Paul T Davies reviews Famile Floez's production Infinita now playing at the Pleasance Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Photo: Sike Meyer Infinita Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe
18 August 2018
4 Stars
This is the third production by German mask theatre company Famile Floez at the Edinburgh fringe, and they have become firm fringe favourites for their playful, yet epic, storytelling in which not a word is spoken, but everything is communicated. Infinita is a visual comedy about the beginning and end of life, highlighting the similarities between the nursery and the residential home. The physicality is superb, and I swear the masks have expressions! The childhood scenes, in which a baby learns to stand and then walk, in which children climb on over large furniture, play with a huge football, are an absolute delight, a joy to watch. That similar dynamics are shown in the nursing home are funny and perceptive, the bullying, the demanding nature of residents, the toilet needs, all create a sense of fun. But here the play deals with loss and the approach of death, and it's beautifully poignant. Projections fill in the story of the lifetime love between a pianist and a cellist, and this aspect is a little under developed. As the piece progresses, it feels more like a collection of scenes, very enjoyable, but lacking a strong narrative. However, this is mask work of the highest order, and a totally charming curtain call seals this as a family show not to be missed.
BOOK NOW FOR INFINITA
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
Stay in the spotlight
Get the latest theatre news, reviews and exclusive offers straight to your inbox.
