Culture Editor Sabrina Hau explores The King’s Player’s rendition of ‘The Clean House’ written by Sarah Ruhl in the Anatomy Museum on September 27.
With an abundance of apples, dried leaves and dramatics, The King’s Player’s performance of ‘The Clean House‘ left the set in a state of disarray that had the audience shouting in cheers and cries by the end of the show.
Located inside the Anatomy Museum in the King’s Building, the set unfolded in a strange organised disorder. A sofa located on the back wall, an ironing board in the centre, a chair, a small table, lots of tableware, and apples. The audience engulfed the surrounding stage, letting us in close to the point where we can smell, and feel, the actions of each scene.
Starting off with a strong monologue in Hindi, delivered by the cleaner Mallika (played by Ananya Sahay), confusion was worn on the audience’s faces and yet the delivery was understood by all that sat in the theatre.
The balcony played a role in itself alongside the cast, acting as both a physical divide between the characters, and an emotional divide between the characters’ relationships. While Ana (played by Anastasia Voica) and Mallika chewed and threw their apples carelessly and carefully, the audience looks up to see into their carefree enjoyment of life. Meanwhile, Ana and Charles (played by Lonje Kalanda) danced, holding each other lovingly and sweetly, enjoying their present moment with complete disregard to their morality.
Though not present in their conversation, Lane (played by Emily Kearney) holds a hand to her mouth, eyebrows torn, knees weakening as she slowly sees her life being taken away, her relationship with the people around her, apple by apple, moment by moment.
Humour, essential to the play’s central tone, purposefully brought unreserved and hearty laughter between moments of silent understanding. Though originally marked as a Romantic Comedy, this rendition was highlighted sisterhood through its moments of insanity and madness. Where Lane’s need of control was slowly dissipated by accepting Ana’s presence; where Mallika’s desire for laughter is fulfilled, where Virginia’s (played by Dio Norman-Taylor) twitch calms through her acts of service, and Anna’s death nears as she accepts her final destiny.
The surrealistic themes created a universe where the acts we normally categorise as absurd seem acceptable. The symbolism of the apples being tied to their sanity allowed for subtle references to both the character’s eventual demise, but also acted as a satirical response to the idea of a ‘Clean House’. “We are moral people!” they screamed, not people who have just recently imploded an existing marriage with absolute smiling delight. The dragged out performance of the breast surgery, as if Charles was possessed by Don Juan, enacted as the seeds to the fruit of their ‘love’.
If this play has taught us anything is that our homes will always be filled with filth, imperfection, mess, and chaos, whether physically or mentally. Alas, what is theatre without a sense of absurdity?
About the author
