I walked into the recent production of Woyzeck not truly knowing what to expect. The play was experimental to begin with, and with an unfinished original script, a hodge-podge cast from all walks of life, and a clear emphasis on tech and atmosphere, this avant-garde project could go anywhere.
The audience was instructed to go on stage, and was told that the first performance was also the first complete run through. (I will admit that I was concerned, but also amused.) The arts are a moving, breathing thing, and this just spontaneity added a whole new layer to that element. The play started with a slow, disorienting, recording of typical ‘40s instrumental music that played on a vintage record player. The record player was carted off the stage and we began the real performance.
Its atmosphere started out dark, cold, and unsettling, and the performance never departed from that aesthetic. With fog machines between scenes, and disjointed dialogue filling the script, the audience never felt quite at ease with the characters’ actions. The play moved on to show how the main character, Woyzeck, was horribly dehumanized, dejected, and manipulated by different elements of society, whether it be by his doctor, the army, or his wife. The use of a kind of Orwellian doublespeak and lighting changes really hammered home the confusing orders and confounding, controlling world where Woyzeck lived.
With a wordy script, and a large emphasis on atmosphere, the audience was reeled into a surrealist nightmare. We were completely enraptured by each scene, which were independent vignettes of social commentary that added their own complexities to the plot. You never knew where the next scene would take you. One might hammer home the idea of toxic masculinity and how it affects people, another might show a character ignoring the nuances of the world, and another may place its emphasis on human beings’ tendency to force the world into impossible categories.
Very little of the performance was humanist. The theme of dehumanization through control and toxic social norms was rampant, leading to Woyzeck ultimately perverting control at the end because of the bad effects others’ control has caused him. In fact, in what is arguably the best scene in the play, the audience glimpsed true humanity in a Jewish shopkeeper, the first person to show true care to Woyzeck.
However, as much as I can regale you with my analysis of the performance, I should also tell you how it actually went. The script, while at times bewilderingly wordy and somewhat inefficient for the live stage, was solid. It certainly fit the avant-garde direction the performance was going for. As someone who has only encountered the surrealist art form in film, television, and music, I was unsure what to expect in a live performance. However, the atmosphere was delightfully bleak, and that each scene was framed to make the audience feel boxed in and trapped in the story, a manner of helping one empathize with Woyzeck.
The acting was frankly phenomenal, considering the lack of a formal runthrough and the dearth of acting practices. Although the production did not feel put together, the actors stepped up and did well. The leads were deeply convincing, and the smaller roles were executed with fantastic humor and pacing.
However, there was a downside to the experience. Sometimes scene changes were so long that they destroyed the performance’s momentum. When a scene had stretched on for a long time, the audience lost interest in this dialogue-heavy play. Frankly, this was the fault of no real runthrough and no opportunities for stagehands to practice the scene changes. A problem that could have been solved by such an easy fix was at points excruciating for the audience to watch, knowing full well that its consequences were avoidable.
The biggest downside, and most disappointing one, was the length. Most college students couldn’t stay through the entire performance because it was simply too long. With a run time of four hours, even the lightest schedule cannot handle that kind of commitment. This was sloppy organization at the highest level. Frankly, it detracted from the experience. Overall, the performance was enjoyable and thought-provoking, albeit unpolished. I would give Woyzeck 3.5 out of 5 stars.