Apologia
24 August 2024
Old Red Lion Theatre
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
Apologia bills itself as the first stage play to examine the life of Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, a famed Italian occultist who was discredited as a charlatan after his death, a draw for anyone interested in controversial historical figures, and plays that focus on them. But does it live up to its claim of lifting the veil of mystery and misrepresentation from a public figure shrouded in occultism? Unfortunately it does not quite achieve this feat, however, as it does feel more like a showcase of a work in progress, it does have huge potential to get there!
The small venue does not do this play any favours either, as the live musical accompaniment of spooky, looped violin music is just a fraction too loud and too reverberating in this tiny space, at times making the dialogue hard to hear rather than enhancing the atmosphere. During large parts of the play, the music stops altogether. With a little tweaking, a continuous soundscape at a lower sound level could absolutely benefit the building of tension in various scenes.
Beginning with a long sequence of interpretive dance that seems wholly unconnected to the story and does not serve the plot, the play unfortunately overran by almost half an hour, 50% of its billed running time, which is too much in a fringe festival with almost back-to-back shows at various locations. It is also interesting that this additional run time did not aid in fully unravelling the life of Cagliostro. While we do learn that he started as a common thief before being taken under the wing of an alchemist/occultist, few stations of his life are fully examined or explained. There are peripheral mentions of European royalty, Free Masons, necromancy, alchemy, but none are staged to their full potential, leaving the audience confused and wanting more in-depth information of what exactly this man was accused of in the first place. Doing this within a short hour is ambitious, but would have needed a lot more focus, brevity, and specificity. Instead, we linger on brief meetings with Cassanova, the history of Cagliostro’s wife Serafina, and the banter between the two, distracting from the main character’s life and achievements.
Despite the occasional dodgy accent, the acting is very solid, if at times slightly wobbly. The soundscape is brilliantly moody and suits the darker subject incredibly well, just needs some adjustment in loudness. The way the story is presented needs refinement, as it reads as a work-in-progress at this stage, with many interesting elements and the beginning of a solid biopic play, Apologia could become a fantastic exploration of a mystical figure’s life. Yet at this stage, it is still disjointed and unpolished, spending too much time to build moods rather than examining the life and actions of a fascinating, yet quite unknown, historical figure. I do hope it gets further developed to see its full potential realised, the building blocks are definitely there!
