What is it that we like about certain authors? That they manage to pour feelings into words for us, feelings that we may have never been able to express by ourselves, thus helping us to understand how the human soul (read: us) works better. Along this line, what did I like in Paul Sutton’s recently staged Ghosts on the Line? He showed us the way we are. No less, no more.
The genius script of BBC radio scriptwriter Sutton was adapted by a tiny but talented and dedicated multi-national crew for the stage of international culture hub, Merlin. Conceived originally as a radio play, Ghosts on the Line’s action is simple; we witness three telephone conversations. Witness, here, is indeed the right word. Skillfully directed by American Anastasia Morrighan, the play, now being staged, is furthered by the tension of isolation: it lets us watch the two endpoints of communication without the characters being able to see each other. The stage is divided in the middle leaving two separate spaces for the actors; but, they can’t even look at each other, no action-reaction, no body language feedback. Just like in a real phone conversation.
The geniality of the play lies in the fact that it talks to all of us. While watching it, your heart and mind jump every now and then saying: ‘aye, that’s exactly like me’. Or ‘Oh my God, that’s exactly like he used to be’. Or ‘Pfff, she says the same things’. Through a few very real characters, the play explores the painful process of letting go. Of a love, of a dream, an ideal; a person you imagined your life with. The letting go of a lifestyle you thought you wanted.
Ghosts on the Line is about the ghosts in our lives. Everybody has a few…
CHECK OUT OUR GALLERY FROM THE PREMIER
Plays on: February 22, March 1, 22
Tickets: 1,500 HUF, students 1,200
PHOTOGRAPH: Cédric Larvoire, www.aemnesia.net