Champions is a rare show within the Fringe: unashamedly aiming at a performance art aesthetic, it features a single naked performer who sits on stage and listens to recorded conversations between a therapist and his parents. Examining a family history that is troubled by paternal homophobia, it intersperses the conversations with video scenes of wrestling, offering a potent, if blunt, metaphor for the emotional battles.
The words of Father and Mother describe the childhood and manhood of the performer. Aiming for a reflective and meditative atmosphere, the production’s abrupt shifts in tone, from speech to violence, operates to deepen the analysis, contrasting the father’s desperate desire for a more manly son with the son’s taciturn and exposed presence.
Ultimately, the passivity of the performer allows the harsh words to be received gently and while there are elements of reconciliation and acceptance, the impression of an immutable and static family dynamic fails to ignite the debate. Meanwhile, the reliance on stage technology – lighting, music, video screens – errs on the side of spectacle rather than dynamic theatricality. Closer to a short visual art installation than a scripted performance, Champions provides an outline of dysfunction without ever extending or deepening the discourse.
Champions, Pleasance at EICC, until 16 Aug, 8.30pm