Maze | The Naughty Corner Collective
Warning: this review contains spoilers for MAZE.
Confined to an everchanging labyrinth, one’s mind may begin to wander as anxieties reveal dark truths about oneself and those they love. Such was the case in The Naughty Corner Collective’s MAZE, which was a new interpretation of the mythical labyrinth that holds Crete’s Minotaur. The creative team used a combination of creative lighting, physical theatre, and puppetry to create a visually stunning performance.
In this version, Asterion the Minotaur, played by Jeremiah Wray, is not an aggressive animal, but is simply misunderstood. The plot plays into the narrative of nature vs nurture, showing that the creature was not intrinsically violent, as is suggested in many traditional accounts of this myth. Through years of torment and abuse for being different, however, and following one final betrayal, Asterion transforms into the more familiar terrorising beast from Ancient Greek Mythology.
“Let them see what their whispers have cost them” - MAZE
Image: Kate Lund
Throughout the piece we see fragments of Asterion’s memories and thoughts, as we piece together the actions that led to him fleeing to hide underground. It is left up to interpretation whether Asterion really is unsafe specifically in the tunnel, or whether he is not safe alone with his thoughts. Is he delusional, enlightened, reminiscent, or being hunted in the darkness? The main thing that seemed to terrorise Asterion were the elaborate rumours circulating in the town about him that spun out of control, leaving him with no autonomy for the trajectory of his story.
The script nudges toward this being an origin story of sorts to explain how Asterion became a more aggressive version of himself. I absolutely loved this concept, because it provides a strong premise for developing a character arch concisely and allowing audiences to feel more empathy for a character that would often be villainised or side-lined. I personally feel, however, that the strength of the story was let down by some of the dramaturgical decisions in the final act, which to me felt like Asterion’s decisions were scripted purely for shock value rather than genuine character development.
The final act of aggression, Asterion killing Acacallis (his brother, played by Sho Eba), felt out of character. I was led to believe that Asterion was very loving and would only hurt someone accidentally, or as a last resort to defend himself. As that was the only narrative I had been told up to that point, it seemed very strange that he would kill someone he loved unprovoked. Sure, Acacallis did something horrible, but he was not showing any aggression himself toward Asterion. It was a great plot twist, I just felt that I must have missed something that built to that action. Without that clear trajectory, though, it felt like a rushed moment of tension that just didn’t make sense to me and ultimately diminished the impact of an otherwise strong adaptation.
Image: Kate Lund
The absolute highlight of this piece were the stunning visuals created by lighting choices that were simple yet powerful and creative. The set design was minimalistic, and yet, through the lighting design (by Ben Mills) the stage always seemed so full. I particularly enjoyed the imaginative way that they depicted the chaos and confusion of traversing the labyrinth. The actors used neon tube lighting to move around the space, giving shape to the maze and blocking Wray’s path as he approached dead ends. This was a very effective use of the small stage. Further, it made the labyrinth feel alive, almost like a character itself, with the lighting being the blood pumping through the veins of the tunnels. I would love to see this piece performed in a site-specific configuration! I feel that it would work perfectly inside an actual tunnel or in an old warehouse.
MAZE was a fascinating piece presented by one of the many incredible emerging theatre collectives in Meanjin | Brisbane, featuring an incredible cast and a clearly imaginative creative team. If this electric performance was anything to go by then I am certainly itching to see more from them.
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