Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Making Marx
Guy Masterson – TTI presents Clara Francesca
Genre: Solo Show
Venue: Assembly Rooms
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Powerful words in a physically well-crafted and poised production which uses all the arts to show all the purposes behind a woman who should bever be silenced.
Review
From a slow start the creative force of director Guy Masterson and Clara Francesca have given us a challenging piece of theatre which attempts to provide us with an understanding of the woman behind the legendary Karl Marx, Jenny Marx. Taking in how she came to know Marx, this is more representational and thematic than biographical and not the lesser for that.
We begin with Francesca hanging in a coat which slowly sees here emergence through a voice over from a Master who will attempt to control her and her influence. He physicality of the piece is underscored by visuals which are stunning. The beginning section, in particular gives us such beauty captured that it belies the ugliness of trying to negate her spirit.
Once we arrive at her encounter with Marx, Francesca is in full flow. The relationship with the Master is one of intense control and such superb ability to work with a voiceover whilst matching her response perfectly to the words spoken and attitudes taken by the disembodied voice shows acute skill.
The conceit of a researcher giving Jenny her voice works to an extent and the personification of the ink drawing our Jenny on the page has merit, however, what it does at times means that there is more style than substance. That is not to say that there is not a lot of substance because there clearly is, but that we are getting much in the way by theory: perhaps a little ironic given the subject matter’s relationship to a father of Communism.
Having said that, discovering that Jenny Von Westphalen was from petty noble stock, and that she knew her future husband from early years, does enhance the understanding we should have of her reasonings behind the union.
It cannot be doubted that Masterson’s final appearances at the Fringe, after 30 years shall highlight what it is that we are going to be missing. Taking all of the advantages on offer from the theatre, there is so much of great value in Making Marx, which is added to by the ability of Francesca to not just interact with it, but also get across the footlights and engage with the audience. It added to the poignancy of handing out the necklaces to represent babies.
The move to the climax which delved back to some of the beginning when Jenny had no voice and had to mimic the voiceover, to the rebellion is marked with pace and precision – would expect no less from either artiste. By the end I was marvelling at the originality, wondering about the truth of it all, and planning to find out more. And perhaps that, as well as the art, is what was hoped for.
