Finding meaning in a world which is seemingly disconnected, unfair and often impossible to negotiate is at the backbone of Gavin Robertson’s solo performance. Crusoe draws upon scientific theory about the universe and looking at the physical effects of both loneliness and illness, with Robertson flipping before four distinct, but interconnected men. The interconnectedness of the characters is resonant of themes also discussed by Simon McBurney, both in his Open Meeting with Sick of the Fringe last week, and currently in The Encounter, which looks at the impossibility of one man being an island. The piece’s title (not referred to by name in the work) recalls the journey of the stranded Robinson Crusoe, one man finding meaning amongst the solitude – and here Robertson mines the quiet and the isolation for a greater understanding of how we connect and disconnect in a contemporary age, and the political and transformative potential for connecting with others (and with ourselves). While Alzheimer’s plays a pivotal role in one of the character’s lives, the work is less about forgetting and the difficulty of forgetting (as might be seen in Still Alice, out last year), and more about larger philosophical questions about both what exists in place of memory, and how we must look closer in order to see connection between ideas and people which may not be obvious at first glance. (BL)
CRUSOE, Gavin Robertson, 8-28 August, ZOO. Venue is not wheelchair accessible. Check with venue about other access requirements. https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/crusoe
More about Gavin Robertson: http://www.gavinrobertson.com/
Simon McBurney in The Encounter: http://www.eif.co.uk/blog/2015/close-encounters-herald-theatre-critic-neil-cooper-complicite%E2%80%99s-encounter#.VdR7p1xVikp
Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner’s The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiPbr2V30NQ