'POLYGRAPH' THEATRE REVIEW

Review of theatre show 'Polygraph' for RMITV. (July 2018)

A shocking death scene, a passionate kiss and a brooding set design bring to life the part metaphysical thriller, part murder mystery and part love story that is Polygraph. OpticNerve Performance Group’s adaptation of the original 1988 French play by Robert Lepage and Marie Brassard is a hauntingly beautiful production.

Polygraph is based on the true events surrounding a young woman’s unsolved murder in Quebec. Suspicion rests on the woman’s close friend, François, a political science student, whose suffering at his unknown guilt or innocence gradually increases as years pass with no resolution to the case. Six years after the murder, François meets Lucie, an actress cast in a film portraying the murder, and David, a criminologist involved in administering polygraph examinations on the suspects of the case. Throughout the 90-minute production, the characters discover the extent of their interwoven lives and struggle to find answers to questions of truth, love, innocence and suffering.

The themes of the play are particularly important in today’s political climate of uncertainty and distrust. Questions surrounding the power of authority and its impact on vulnerable individuals are raised, yet the play itself forces no conclusions upon its audience.

This version of Polygraph was brought to life by director Tanya Gerstle, and actors Grant Cartwright, Emily Thomas and Lachlan Woods. The three cast members were exquisite, effortlessly shifting personalities and temperaments in faultless performances. The audience was immediately drawn in and taken on a whirlwind journey of character development, sharing each and every emotion with the actors on the stage.

Polygraph draws from the film noir genre and has an eerie and foreboding feel. The set design (Jelle Jager and Betty Auhl) was phenomenal and allowed the actors to add to their performance through acrobatic and strength work on vertical bars and drawing or writing on the blackboard and floor. The music and lighting similarly contributed to the creation of ominous scenes.

As a very complex tale, the story often featured different scenes occurring simultaneously, and the smoothness with which these were performed gives credit to the calibre of the cast and writers. A scene near the beginning which compared a stab wound to the heart with the Berlin Wall was incredibly intelligent and proved to the audience that they were in for a night of thought-provoking and stimulating theatre.

The show addresses many mature themes, including suicide, alternative and BDSM sexual lifestyles, drug-taking and trauma. Each topic is handled in a way that challenges the audience not to shy away but to confront and think about these issues.

Some of the play is performed in French, so French speakers would take more from the entire show than others, however the majority is in English so it is easy to get by.

Polygraph was a breath-taking production and one of the best plays I have ever seen. The pace and interconnectedness of the story remained from start to finish, leaving the audience trying to piece together how everything linked once the lights came back on. The end of the performance in some ways raised as many questions as it answered, and this form of intelligent theatre is a truly special thing to experience.

OpticNerve are renowned for producing dynamic theatre that pushes the boundaries of artistic storytelling and questions our perceptions of social reality. This performance was no exception and I cannot recommend it highly enough.