Theatre - Lulu

Performance: Lulu by Frank Wedekind
Performed by: Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Date: 2nd December 2015
Location: Silk Street Theatre, The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Barbican, London, United Kingdom
Seat: Unreserved (Near the front at the centre)
Rating: 4.5/5

It is that time of the year again when Guildhall puts on its Christmas show, and as per usual it exceeds expectations by being truly wonderful. Lulu was written by Frank Wedekind in 1895 and is formed of two plays Earth Spirit and Pandora's box (however in contemporary theatre it is condensed into one play under the name of Lulu as this performance was). Lulu is among Wedekind's most popular works along with Spring Awakening.  It depicts the dark but deeply humorous tale of the alluring and beautiful Lulu and her many (many!) sexual experiences and relationships with men and women alike, and the descent of each into destitution or death, and finally Lulu's descent herself. Lulu evaluates many different issues which are hugely relevant even in today's society. Lulu herself represents that of the strong empowered feminist trapped in the patriarchal society of the late Nineteenth century. Despite being an active character and the centralised theme of the plot, every plot, action, endeavour and achievement is governed by a man often through marriage, in which she can only escape through death. Her promiscuity and adultery only goes to further this view point, that she cannot escape marriage, nor does she want to, for she fears being alone, without the male dominance above everything else.  The play portrays an incredibly dark side to human sexual nature and particularly male sexuality and the affinity toward younger girls. Wedekind's own life is perhaps reflected within the play with his deep rooted jealousy in his own marriage, his utter scorn for adultery and his belief sexual allure and sex was the only thing to keep his marriage alive. We can see familiar attributes in Lulu's character in conjunction with Wedekind's in her desperate need for validation from her husbands, her constant erogenous presence through her actions, her outfits and her speech, and finally her ultimate demise at the hands of a man, as a result of her constant philandering.
Lulu is deeply sexual and strangely liberating for a late Nineteenth century play. It appears Wedekind enjoyed to push social boundaries and causing a stir with his exploration of the fiercely private sex life, marriage and its mockery through Lulu's satirical adultery and lesbianism, these same tropes can be seen through Spring Awakening, essentially a critique of the privacy of sex, and the consequences of such prudishness. It is hard to imagine in a world dominated by sex, that such plays would be so frowned upon, but the Nineteenth Century was one dominated by the private sphere, sexual repression and prudishness.
Guildhall's production of Lulu was absolutely fantastic. The staging was incredibly simple, but effective. The most powerful staging was the photographs of the actresses playing Lulu in different (incredibly sexual, I might add) poses, which then turned to paintings, which were both creative and interesting. This was particularly powerful in Act I when Lulu is being painted and the photograph was the pose in which she was striking on stage.
A further striking but brilliant feature of the Guildhall interpretation of the play, was at the end of each act, the actress of Lulu changed. I was initially hesitant with this idea but felt it worked well and was portrayed cleverly with each previous Lulu handing a prop to the next Lulu in scene changes, almost passing the torch if you like. It made for an interesting portrayal, as each Lulu slowly sank into demise.
I furthermore, couldn't write a review without mentioning the music that was written especially for the play. The music by Alex Hall, a composer at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, was very potent and interesting. It was very dark, eerie and ethereal, particularly in Act III, with the jazz influenced movements. The music complimented the dark plot beautifully.
Overall, Lulu by Guildhall was a fantastic take on a fantastic play. It illuminated some very interesting and dark issues, with some very clever humour, which took some relief from the essentially incredibly depressing end to the play. It is with great regret I announce tonight was the last performance of the play, or I would urge all to go and see it!