Merak’s Mortel - Review
Photography by Abraham de Souza - @abrahamdesouza
Merak’s Mortel - @merak_physical_theatre
Trying to explain all the complexities of this one thing we all have in common and yet each have a unique experience dealing with is a task that is beyond our own. The beauty and nature of life is something very hard to capture without using words and yet, the cast of Mortel has done just that. Through moving as a complete unit, having individual solos, and the use of one single prop, Mortel captured the feelings that each of us go though in our stages of life in a beautifully unique way.
Starting with the prenatal stage of life, something that only a few of us get to witness as we grow and our families expand, but isn’t something we remember ourselves, was captured with inspired imagination. Each actor, struggling to control and move their limbs, discovering parts of their bodies as they move, all in all, effectively learning how to crawl, walk and talk again like we all did as infants was a great testament to each actors imagination. The movements were seemingly random but had their own place in the piece until they all came together to breathe as one.
The infancy, toddlerhood and early childhood stage, was full of life. Emotions like curiosity, happiness, frustration and sadness was explored with the intensity that only a child has. Children are wild and free and they are learning how to use and hone their emotions, the actors demonstrated this was great ease. It was evident that this stage was as much filled with joy as it was with confusion, much like a child themselves.
The adolescence and early adulthood stage captured the beauty that is first loves, the struggles with accepting love and the love that can be unkind, in a way that was both punchy and lyrical. It was giddy, and awkward and everything you feel in that stage of life. Each silhouette of a relationship felt like its own story amongst a bigger picture, like they were moving in and out of each other lives, exploring their own bodies and find their place within themselves and with each other. The actors demonstrated strength within their movements, the energy of the piece never felt like it was lacking and with each second the actors were giving it their all.
Mid and late adulthood explored the part of life that we as humans spend most of our time in. The movements were repetitive and gave the feeling of days passing, with the occasional burst of something different and unique, that if you weren’t paying attention you may have missed. It moved fast with each swift movement of the collective, like life often does.
Death much like prenatal is something that as humans effects us during our lives but isn’t something we can remember or experience, per se. The actors participated in what can only be described as a death march, each going to death at their own pace and leaving behind a smaller and smaller group. Their movements although were the same and choreographed, had a sense of individuality. It was powerful while also being soft. It was a haunting display of the end of life, and the emotions throughout the cast were running high, leaving the audience feeling as if their departure was all too soon; much like grief itself.
For a first performance as a company it was a massive task to undertake. The actors worked well together as a unit and individual specialities were explored. There was great trust built throughout the ensemble, a true testament to not only the actors themselves but also their Director, Steven Ljubovic. Steven collected the inspiration from Erik Erikson’s 9 stages of Psychosocial Development and made it their own with the collaboration from the actors sharing their stories and experiences to create a 60 minute image of life that was authentic and vulnerable. With a starting point as impressive as Mortel, I can’t wait to see what Merak produces next.
