4/5 stars

stage@leeds

April 24-27

 

Like every other play produced by the PCI this year, ‘Architects of the Invisible’ lacked a clear story. However, if you dissect all of the small extracts from the play and put them together, it could qualify as having a plot. Yet any attempts of doing this would defeat the very purpose that this collaborative piece tried to achieve. ‘Architects of the Invisible’ is not about a story, but a journey of chance.

The play began with an uninvited silence. We sat there for a while, peering at the long line of this 17 member cast expecting them to perform. Apparently, they had similar expectations of us. It was obvious then that this was comedy, and comedy as a genre never did fail to entertain.

It was only after a quick bombardment of stats, regarding some of the unusual ways to die, that the play really took life. A well-rehearsed series of phases followed, depicting the mediocre routines of a familiar morning, tempting the audience to just lean back and relax. However, we were soon pulled back to the edge of our seats with a chaotic intervention of overlapping monologues. The cast made a spectacular, almost fluent, transition from methodical to disarrayed performance.

Despite the cast’s repeated attempts at testing the audiences’ intelligence with a mock ending, not one of us budged, as the play’s serious tone slowly disappeared. The cast and crew of ‘Architects of the Invisible’ took a chance here, leading the audience astray and then bringing them back into an explosion of creative irony; it paid off ten-fold.

The set was interestingly elegant yet simple enough to be transformed to fit the verve of the play. Collectively, the cast and crew deserve a word of praise for their light hearted, entertaining and dynamic performance. Personally, I would give them a standing ovation.

 

words: Ronne Kuriakose