Review - The Experiment

The Experiment

By Mark Ravenhil and David Chisholm

Performer – Mauricio Carrasco

Writer – Mark Ravenhill

Composer – David Chisholm

Guest Composer – Fernando Garnero

Images – Emmanuel Bernardoux

Media Artist – Matthew Grigold

Dramaturg – Jude Anderson

Melbourne Festival 2015

Malthouse Theatre

The Experiment is true Festival fare - a challenging, demanding and at times ‘in your face’ performance.  It pushes the envelope with regard to sensation particularly sound.  The experience touches on, what it would be like to be traumatized, seemingly from the perspective of a perpetrator of violent/painful abuse.  But it could also be expressing the experience of the victim, as perceived by the perpetrator, who himself has been a victim.

There is considerable ambiguity throughout. 

It portrays the relentless intrusion of re-occurring memories, distress confusion and disassociation – the result of trauma.  It is immersive. 

Image of Mauricio Carrasco by Shane Reid

The actual traumatizing experience is hazily described.  This is because, that which is being portrayed and expressed, is not so much descriptive of events but rather a portrayal of the legacy of damage.   What we witness is one man’s shattered and changing realities through his disjointed verbal descriptions and a changing projected visual landscape.  

As a possible compliant perpetrator’s assistant Mauricio Carrasco (as the protagonist) talks of experimenting on two children and the inference is that the experiments are painful and dangerous and damaging.  Startlingly we are reminded of Holocaust medical experiments.

As a kind of contradiction to this there are some tame but symbolically troubling images of men with dolls that obviously symbolize children where the inference is more akin to the dark crime being sexual abuse. 

Blaming the other and torturing the listener/viewer expresses the perpetuation of the cycle and pain of abuse.   The works portrayal of the unethical and cold-blooded use of the innocent for one’s own gain - distresses. 

This material is doubly difficult to dwell on right now with the confirmation of the identification of the murdered child in the suitcase (Kandalyce Kiara Pearce) and the still involved disappearance of toddler William Tyrrell.  The cross over with reality as we are currently experiencing it through the news is deeply troubling.

Carrasco expresses the occurrences from the conceit of shattered brain.

Early on in the work there are inferences of the story Hansel and Gretel, bars and incarceration as well as projections of old knarled trees that could be out of a fairytale forest.  There are fantastical projections of double screens ambiguous forest and fairy world and perhaps undersea creatures.  Images change and the affronting journey brutalizes.

Technically what is truly amazing the way the sound moves around the room by way of numerous hanging speakers. 

Much of the sound is discordant music a legacy from the early 20^th century and most affectingly the sliding of a ruler on guitar strings and in doing so continually hitting the pickup to almost abusive effect.

It is becomes a harsh and unrelenting event and relief is felt at the conclusion.  And even then it seems to take a while to free oneself from the unrelentingly troubling, disorientating and brutalizing experience.

Suzanne Sandow