Review: "First Class" at The Blue Elephant

At the Blue Elephant Theatre, till 25/10

Amy Nostbakken and Nir Paldi are fascinated by the shapes, movements and places that make up the world and by the dramatic potential of seemingly anodyne objects (a corkscrew, brown paper packages, etc.); they are also both accomplished physical performers and Nostbakken has a wonderful singing voice, both technically proficient and rich in character.

With this as a starting point, they have devised a show about shy introvert Michael (Paldi) who, in the course of a trip to the post office, rediscovers his joie de vivre with the help of zany postal worker Beatrice (Nostbakken). Before you can say "I love Paris in the spring time", Bea is leading both Michael and the audience on a fantastical adventure through the city of lights, from the dizzying heights of the Eiffel Tower, down to the smoky and sultry depths of the Parisian jazz cafés, and passing over a Pont des Arts where stories and history have become indistinguishable.

Nostbakken veers between joyous apoplexy, coy flirtatiousness and childish playfulness whilst Paldi's movements become freer and more graceful as he opens up to the world around him. Both performers are clearly most happy and at ease when indulging in flights of fancy involving a physicalisation of the fantasy world they are creating. In these moments, they are a joy to behold, moving seemlessly from a speedboat, to an extended dance sequence to the Paris metro and back to the cold reality of an empty post office.

Where the show could do with polishing is at the beginning, where the pace seems to be off (too slow and stunted) and more liberties could be taken with the lines. Too often, the words do not capture the same playfulness as the performances and though they do not jar, they somethimes border on cliché when they should be aspiring to poetry. It is as though the performers are less interested in playing games with language than they are with playing physical games; the two should go hand in hand.

But this is already a show full of invention and creativity, and there is no doubt that it will develop further throughout the performance period.