Shattered - Stunning But Incomprehensible

Shattered is created and performed by Andrew Barrett. He is the Artistic Director of Impulse Theatre based in Victoria, BC which has created over 10 new highly visual and engaging works since 2010. This newest work premiered at Intrepid Theatre's UnoFest May 2013.

The write-up for Shattered states: "Each of us has dozens of pieces and parts inside of us, but what happens when they have to fend for themselves? An intense and beautiful physical theatre piece, Shattered gets inside a person who is broken apart. This solo endeavour follows the pieces as they strive to find where they fit and what their body needs in order to move past the dust."

Thanks to a solid production team, Shattered is visually stunning. The three boxes are used to build varied structures, white chalk dust scattered on the stage makes lovely images, the fog machine billows mist frequently and reflects the gentle coloured lighting. Andrew Barrett executes beautiful, technical movements with grace. The music adds an interesting layer of texture most of the way through the show. 

However - I never had any idea of what or why I was watching Shattered. It began with an opening movement sequence which may have been in a cell (which I deduced due to the reflection of a cross-hatch pattern on the boxes), or on a boat (as he was climbing on the boxes) or possibly a stowaway in an attic (when he dodged and weaved about). About 10 minutes into the show, the performer began a conversation with himself (or possibly another character). Then the movement sequences continued on (with occasional spurts of dialogue), using abstract movement accompanied by music. I thought at one point he was mentally ill and holding discourse with his illness. I wondered at another point if he was he was a terrified abuse victim. And as the show continued, I began making up ever more elaborate theories. Was he an alien child abandoned on Earth? Or the individual personification of all human souls? Or an embryonic pre-human life form? I had no idea. 

Eventually, I just accepted that Shattered was intended as an abstract exploration. I found the experience ultimately frustrating which may be based on my own expectations of theatrical storytelling elements being present even in physical theatre. I suspect if I had approached this as a dance piece, I would have had a different reaction (though I still would have disliked the incredible increase of volume in the music towards the end of the show and thought it could have been a shorter show). 

So - that's my review. Stunning but incomprehensible.