Melancholia of Eight

12 shows, 8 days… Performance Space 122 (http://www.ps122.org/) presented its annual winter event, COIL 2009, featuring some of the newest theatre, dance, and music from NYC and around the globe.

I saw “Eight” last night – eight actors, eight short 15 minute snippets presenting their lives, struggles and the darkest deepest secrets to the audience in a concise, very well acted and heartfelt manner. All of the actors, as well as the author are Edinburgh graduates and/or students. They are young, talented and eager. They feel struggles of their characters even if they could not have experienced their lives with surprising self-awareness and style.

Collection of stories started with a monologue of a politically and socially conservative prostitute keeping old values alive –well played, funny in its sincerity and charming all at the same time. A life story of a young girl living in the house with no doors, with a mother who invites in strangers and keeps no secrets only to alienate her daughter, force her to run away and become impregnated by a stranger to become her mother’s prisoner once again. Actress’ powerful performance made this particular bit my favorite one. There was an Iraqi war veteran all of 20 years old working at the morgue, with corps and no one else to confide in; a hugely successful stockbroker walking out of his life; a gallery owner discovering the suicide of his partner hanging by a Hermes scarf to name the few…

Walking out of the theater I felt melancholy come over me, cover me as a warm blanket but not suffocate me. A friend thought Eight was depressing. Go figure.