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THE BLOWER
May / June 2000 N°20
The need for nudity
The Puritans The play features all the taboos of the theatre, everything you never see on stage. Nudity is omnipresent and a number of scenes are downright embarrassing to watch. The Puritans is a difficult show to watch; you see things that you've often seen in films, but which take on a whole new dimension live.
The show is about abuse, sexual abuse of a child, sexual abuse in general... And to show us the abuse, director and author David Noir uses a lot of nudity, scenes of coitus, and so on.
One of the reactions you might have to this play is rejection, but although it's shocking, it's not just that. Somewhere along the line, we are fascinated. The actors are all very good and very well directed, and some of the group scenes are truly astonishing. Yes, we are impressed. The scene where all the men attack Betty, touching her and then laughing, is truly gripping and frightening.
The Puritans is therefore a show that won't leave you unscathed, and that's precisely what David Noir is aiming for: he wanted to make a work that was anti-theatrical, because he finds that theatre produces boring results, and he wanted to provoke excitement instead. And he's succeeded: there's never a dull moment.
Ingrid Hugnet
