The children in Jean Cocteau’s novel Les Enfants Terribles were mischievous, obnoxious and, indeed, quite terrible. The UC Follies adaptation of the novel, however, was not.
The use of University College’s Junior Common Room set a comfortable and welcoming mood, which helped the audience connect with the main characters — children Elisabeth and Paul’s as they romp around the world of their bedroom. Perhaps the only limitation in the venue was the seating; as one spectator noticed, it was somewhat difficult to follow the action from the row in the back.
One of the highlights of the production was the effective use of props and projections — a success owed to director, Ariel Martz-Oberlander, andproduction designer, Jess Shane.
The show’s use of colorful projections to point out notable moments in the children’s lives, such as Paul’s sleepwalking, certainly enhanced the spectator’s overall engagement in the show. Large puppets were used as replacements for actual “grown-ups” on stage. The two puppeteers and narrators Grace Poltrack and Michael Sutherland manipulated the large dolls and gave them a clear personality. Although the dolls had deformed eyes and dangling arms, they did not appear creepy, but rather kind and gentle in their contact with the children. Their presenceallowed the audience to focus solely on the perception and lifestyle of the children.
The children in the play — Paul, Gerrard, Agnes and Elisabeth — share interests common for children, such as snowball fighting, treasure collecting and pretending to hypnotize each other, their characters are rather ambiguous. Indeed, the audience never fully understands how old the children are. At the start of the play, I was certain that all of them were around age 11, still fond of playing, yet mature enough to help around the house and take care of their sick mother. However, as the play progressed the girls started thinking about getting married and finding a job.
Moreover, the young protagonists were constantly plagued by the idea of death, which was silly in some cases but rather eerie in others. Andrei Borissenko’s portrayal of Paul made the boy seem rather juvenile in comparison to his sister Elisabeth, played by Ula Jurecka. Elisabeth appears to be the most complicated character of the play.
I was surprised that Jurecka did not adopt as many child-like traits for her character. She seemed to be the “grown-up” among the rest — yet, by the end of the play, it became clear that she was the most childish of them all. Jurecka did a brilliant job at portraying this obsessive and impulsive character.
Overall, Les Enfants Terrible featured elaborate props, engaging projections, and brilliant acting, serving well the original text on which it was based.
