Review: Horses at the Window

Carnations and Bad News

by Jasmine Chen

@CHENPINGTING

Horses at the Window, presented by Go Play Producing is an absurdist tragicomedy written by Matei Viniec and translated by Alison Sinclair. Three centuries of war are visited through three relationships: a mother and son, a daughter and father, a wife and husband. In each story the woman is left behind, only to be visited by a mysterious messenger bearing carnations in one hand and bad news in the other. 

This cyclical journey is highlighted by the fact that all three women are played by the same actor (Oyin Oladejo), and the messenger is the same in each vignette (Pooria Fard). The men are represented by puppets, each with varying degrees of effectiveness. Where this production succeeds is in capturing beautiful stage pictures - dead soldiers rising from the earth with sand spilling out of their helmets, concealing their faces; a sea of boots hanging from the ceiling; a mother waiting at the window; a suitcase overflowing with carnations. Where the journey becomes hard to follow is in muddy transitions, excessive lighting changes, and trouble with pacing. With Viniec's tricky script, the actors must walk the line between deeply tragic and absurd. While the messenger scenes were clear in tone and purpose, the preceding woman and man duos faltered. The energy of these scenes either fell flat or remained at a fever pitch throughout.