There is a moment at the start of this collaboration between Bertrand Lesca, who is French, and the Greek Nasi Voutsas, when they get the entire audience to hold hands in a circle. At the performance I saw, that involved quite a lot of physical contortions. It’s a metaphor for the EU in this wonderfully playful, intimate and ultimately moving show, which constantly pits idealism against self-interest and pragmatism.
It’s a natty little piece, whose reach is so much more than its form might suggest. Lesca gives Voutsas a packet of sweets and then demands them back after Voutsas has eaten them. Soon, Voutsas is stripped down to his underpants and looking for a way to escape in a room in which there is no exit. With Lesca controlling both the lighting and the sound, it’s impossible to change the tune that is being played.
This isn’t an anti-EU piece in any kind of Nigel Farage sense. Rather, it’s a meditation on how quickly cooperation breaks down and the playground bullies start to assert their power when the going gets tough and institutions don’t have the mechanisms in place to ensure equality and the distribution of resources according to need. Since the start of austerity in Greece, unemployment and suicide among young people has rocketed. Of the bailout money Greece received, 95% went straight to French and German banks. Eurohouse is a madhouse, one in which the absurd soon turns to tears.
- At Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 26 August. Box office: 0131-226 0000.
