Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Corpse Flower
Three Penny Collective
Genre: Absurd Theatre, Dark Comedy, Surrealism
Venue: C Venues - Roman Eagle Lodge
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Corpse Flower, a classic fusion of styles for all fans of expressionist and surrealist theatre, you will feel like stepping back in time to a period of theatre that has it’s clear identity with heightened emotion and satirical archetypes at the core of the story. This is one out of three productions from ‘The Three Penny Collective,’ directed by Ilya Wray.
Corpse Flower has the essence of ‘The Grinning Man,’ with influences of haunting nineteen twenties expressionistic silent movies – but this story has an enriched tapestry of language! The script writing by Michael Vojtech and Ariel De La Garza compliments the grotesque characters that weave their way into the world of unassuming Millie; who simply wants to find a potent potion to relieve her mother from any further suffering. Expect daft tales of existentialism, as the foundations of untrustworthy misogyny rear their dark head, forcing Millie to find her way out of her laborious pre-engagement to Horst… To seek her own autonomy – not to join the ‘revolution’, but rather to become the revolution.
Buffoonery – Yes.
The tip of Pantalone’s greed – (AKA Gunter) – Yes.
Absurdity – Yes.
Head on a platter – Yes.
Villains of the best nature – Yes.
An eccentric witch moth Auntie – Yes.
An expressionistic comic book, full of life for older children and adults to enjoy. Go see this hidden gem at the festival.
Review
This piece is of a set time, imagine a concoction of Stan Laurel’s Hero in The Lucky Dog, Alice in Wonderland (a more contemporary take), an optimistic yet hopeless pirate and C.A Rotwang in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis… Here you will find Corpse Flower. A beautiful nod to the expressionistic silent movie era, just with words and words that will enchant you!Beautiful script writing here from Michael Vojtech and Ariel De La Garza and an aloof live music score of an ancient piano that feels like you are in the shadows of the old death organ from the Goonies.
Late night, room for some macabre theatre? Then enter the C Arts Venue, and here you will be greeted by an imposing gauze cloth, shielded by dark expressionistic spiders legs. It’s a night for dodgy deeds, ‘in the dark, dark house, there was a dark, dark room’ – but who should be lurking in the walls? Gunter (played by Raphael Ruiz), who is indeed the evil villain of this story, who is up to all deeds of darkness whilst his wife is close to death. Until one night Gunther is greeted by an unexpected visitor… like in all these kafkaesque scenarios, when unexpected characters come knocking on your door you do not check their ID, you simply let them walk on in! Gunter is shocked initially, but accommodating the next. The delightful interactions that proceeded between Ruiz as Gunter and Horst (played by Matthew Rowan) was delightful, a contrast between frantic and graceful states, as they manoeuvre their intentions of the other. What soon transpires is Horst’s determination to marry Millie, eager to get a glance at his future Bride. Gunther however, tries everything in his power to ensure this cannot happen. The physical comedy here combined with the script writing allows you to sit back and enjoy the sinister reactive motions, as Horst eagerly tries to creep his way into the room behind the screen. However – Gunther is never far behind and relentlessly tries to convince him not to see his daughter, for a rare disease has been inflicted on her and the mother is highly contagious.
So many joyous moments here, as we embark on the good old tricks of slapstick comedy, soon rooting for our mispronounced hero Horst, who is eager to do the right thing perhaps but cannot get past the shackles of Millie’s father. The two wrestle in a fight for the floor to spend a few winks, as the absurdities become more twisted and ridiculous. Without giving too much away, this town soon becomes transformed into creatures of the night, taking form as they latch on to the cast one by one. The characters will capture your heart and imagination, I particularly enjoyed the kooky witch moth Aunt, played by Lola Knight. Her Tim Burton gravitas shone on stage, with funny choices – the moth heading back into the darkness as she flew into the curtain as if not wanting to be disturbed. Wonderful.
So many stand out moments here, Ruiz and Rowan have undoubtable chemistry as they truly capture the spirit of expressionism in their delivery and physicality. Rowan, so elegant and agile in his movements and commitment to the distortion of the body, transforming his physique into a gigantic insect, with no room for his head; he carefully places his head on a silver platter. Rowan times this beautifully; baring resemblance to the elegant agility of the late Stan Laurel in his flamboyancy and comedic timing.
Millie, played by Medea Manaz I believe is hoping to capture a more modern/contemporary take on a leading heroine, which works in parts as her behaviour becomes more unpredictable/desperate the more she endeavours to source an income for herself – resulting in disastrous consequences. The sacrifice of one of her hands seems a far price to pay for your freedom right? Very kafkaesque. In moments Millie’s interactions with friend and ally Peskov (played by Alexandros Fragkos) are touching, as they struggle to build a better life for themselves that feels forever intangible.
The direction of this piece would require slight fine tuning, especially if you are seeking to have representational realism amongst surreal archetypes. Stylistically, the gauze screen offers moments of shadow imagery which are too few and far in between – this is a missed opportunity here and could definitely be developed. The simplicity of the carrot becoming the device to drink blood is where the beauty lies – more of this please.
With this said, Corpse Flower is a piece of it’s time – with expressionistic features and over-the top humour you will be sure to be laughing at the casts’ absurd world they create with buckets of tomfoolery and hilarious insect accessories to boot! Will Millie ever find her way out of this hopeless eroding town or will the bugs devour her and the remaining pulse of her mother? All will be revealed in this macabre dark comedy, this is not to be missed and thank the world of Edinburgh Fringe that theatre like this still exists. More people need to see this, definitely a hidden gem of this festival.
