Fury & Elysium
07 June 2023
The Other Palace
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Berlin between the two World Wars, a time of radical change and a rapid spread of more open mindsets. Fury And Elysium follows six influential women in the Weimar Republic, trying to make their way in a harsh post-war world that teeters on the brink of extremism.
While the goal of this showcase is lofty, it gets lots a bit in its ambition. Six strong characters, women who changed the lives around them and put their stamp onto society, each story fascinating and touching. But there is no thread to tie them together, no focus on where they stand in connection with each other. As such, it feels a bit loosely strung together, like six separate characters merely coinciding in the same time and place but never meeting or exchanging ideas.
I love the basis of focussing on important women in history that have been overlooked or silenced, this piece has potential, though before it can elevate itself into a coherent storyline, it has to choose where to place its focus.
While each story itself was interesting and engaging, and the performers were stunning, it didn’t feel like a fully formed piece of theatre. I was also hoping for a more cabaret-style performance, seeing as this era was famously drenched in cabaret, yet this is only loosely touched upon through one famous drag king performing a single number in the middle of the show.
With some workshopping and a more thorough thread leading through the show and connecting the characters, this could really work! Or perhaps with a more thorough focus on fewer characters but with deeper exploration of their lives. Either way, it felt a bit disconnected and just too much to be a coherent show in itself.