The Vault at Fool’s Paradise – Fri 21 Feb

A massive egg dominates the bare stage. I’m already thinking I  wouldn’t want to meet the mother of this one should she arrive, when cracks appear in the shell. After it opens an innocent emerges; or is it a fully grown baby? This wild creature is non-verbal, so we are invited into a world before language, or at least one we can’t understand.

A chorus of four voices rings out from the sidelines. Yes, live and acapella, a wondrous surprise for what is otherwise a one-person show. They too sing in an ancient language, with beautiful harmonies and strange melodies.

We are witness to an act of re-creation, an experience totally grounded in the very basics of theatre and clowning. Sure, there are some special effects, to signify the storms and trials that this fool has to endure in his quest to return home. And some hair-raising acrobatics as he attempts to ascend back up into the space from which he came.

But this is naked clowning at its best, relying fully on the audience to provide the energy to reach the next stage of development. Each chapter, or stage of growth is punctuated by the chorus, reminding us that our journey as human beings began very early on. We are reminded that the fundamentals of the human psyche may not have changed much since then, despite all our so-called advances. The fool reminds us too that reaching any goal is a process of trial and error, of failure and redemption.

In fact the simplicity of this story allows for pretty well every theme of human struggle to be drawn in. They say you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, which is to say life is messy, imperfect, and sometimes disappointing or even depressing. But with pure clowning skill this asks the question, what if together we could heal the wounds just enough to carry on?

The bells of nearby St Francis Xavier Cathedral clanged incessantly throughout the performance. Obviously electronically charged, they were a sad contrast to the live action and music of this primal, ritualistic action taking place. As tempting as more egg puns may be, I can say this is eggstremely eggcellent theatre, a rewarding addition to the Adelaide Fringe.

The British theatre director Peter Brook said that if you can take away just one image from a show it has done its job well. The clever creative team behind this production have gone to great lengths to ensure that by its pared back, minimal nature, their images are potent, powerful and eminently memorable.