What I liked
Sincere performances by the actors, the lighting and shadows, and direction were standouts.
What I didn't like
My friend told me that the dialogue could have been slowed down a bit. Maybe sometimes, but too much of that and the effect totally would have been lost.
My overall impression
I was told this production was the best production so far at the fringe, and I wish it were running longer as I HIGHLY recommend seeing The Vagrancy’s “Normal” by Anthony Neilson. I applaud The Vagrancy for choosing a genre so seldomly performed in theatre; a psychological thriller in the realm of “The Silence of the Lambs”. Reading the synopsis, and/or the play itself, it would be very easy, directorially, to blindly presume this to be a protagonist vs. antagonist story; a serial killer conversing with his attorney. But one soon realizes that in order to manifest the play’s message, much of this story is reliant on who is telling it. The director, David Mancini, wisely forgoes this and makes Kurten’s attorney the storyteller (played by Arthur Keng, in a passionate, sincere performance), and with brilliant use of lighting and shadows, makes Kurten and his wife appear to be bleeding through to infect him in his vulnerable state; Kurten, the toxic one, and his wife, the damaged. Steve Madar, as the serial killer Peter Kurten, perfectly embodies a serial killer’s mentality, and one may expect an actor to venture into the “caricature” zone, but he didn’t. He is, in fact, what a “normal” serial killer would appear to be. Carolyn Deskin, as Frau Kurten, never falls into the “ingénue” trap that, with a period piece, so many actresses can succumb to, and perfectly embodies a character so deeply fractured from past experience, yet savvy. The fast-paced nature of this production harmonizes very well with the play’s message; As a product of your environment, you are susceptible to be transfigured in an instant.
