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Head is likely to have audiences scratching their own noggins and wondering how a piece that feels more like an art installation has made its way into the intimate theatre section of the Auckland Festival.
In its final night at Galatos tonight, Head is an hour-long piece of
nonsense about a giant human head stuck on a stage. Combining video projection and live action performances, this is a show that works best when it is all about silly fun, but gets lost when it strives to be something more meaningful.
The title character of Head is created by a video performance of Carl Bland that is projected onto a white sculptural head designed by John Verryt. Think Kiwi Max Headroom by way of a hat shop mannequin and an Easter Island statue. Head is a nasty egomaniac who is a little bit "everyday guy" and whole lot "diva".
Being a surreal sort of caper, Head is looked after by a lanky headless man of freak show proportions, two fruity English doctors and a gorilla. The headless man and gorilla are played by Peta Rutter and Scott Cotter and I'll offer praise to both for their elegant physical performances and their efforts to make their characters more than sight gags.
In addition to playing the title character, Carl Bland indulges in some self-referential humour in two comedy roles. He plays a mini-me Head who stands in for the big guy when he is struck down by technical problems, and one of two ineffectual GPs called in to treat Head. The second doctor is played by Ben Crowder in a segment of Tweedledee and Tweedledum silliness.
Reminiscent of a Peter Jackson special effect, there is plenty of fun to be had in admiring the technology of Head.
Seeing an actor's face projected so large on a 3D surface is fascinating and Head's self-obsession is quite compelling until it becomes repulsive.
The first half of the show is fun, with silly sight gags, clever tricks and whimsical word play - it's obviously not your average night out when a gorilla gives you a vanilla ice cream.
But at the halfway mark the show loses its way. Head is shot by the gorilla and his near-death experience also kills off the show's whimsy.
The silliness is replaced by dodgy philosophising about fate, death and humanity's ultimate futility.
There is a boring video dream sequence and then the story turns back on itself.
Like the mythical snake that eats itself, this oddity is ultimately a tale without a satisfying end.
