In this darkly comedic and multifaceted production, survival and buried secrets are called starkly into question
Gigi and Dar are soldiers stationed at a checkpoint in an undisclosed location. They look like soldiers; they have the uniform, the scary big guns, the radios, binoculars. Their job is to sit and look out for anyone approaching the checkpoint.
Gigi and Dar, however, don’t act as you’d expect soldiers to act. At 19 and 20 years old, they are ultimately young girls who have been incredibly bored for the last 700 or so days of their service. They are best friends, they giggle, they joke, they take the piss. They have only 6 days left of in the military, and they cannot wait to get out.
Gigi, however, has a secret, and she fears Dar’s reaction. This is revealed to us early on, stirring the pot of inexplicable uneasiness that clouds this production from its onset. As the play continues and the secret reveals itself, we see how people are capable of doing unspeakable things, clouded by anger, a sense of superiority, and perceived supremacy over the ‘other.’ What we are willing to bury in order to survive is questioned, and who gets to decide who ultimately does survive is investigated with painful thoughtfulness. As new characters enter the space, these questions swell with much needed and never-offered answers.
Direction by the iconic Kathryn Hunter brings out great performances by the cast. Hunter’s clear stylistic choices give the production a slight Beckett-esque atmosphere that quickly melts away when reality becomes pressing. Performances by Lola Shalam as Dar, Tanvi Virmani as Gigi, Roman Asde as Sim, and Chipo Chung as Zoz are somehow simultaneously delightful, giddy, and gut-wrenching. Virmani and Shalam are extraordinarily convincing as best friends, and Chung and Asde seemed to share a heartfelt bond that exists only between parents and their children.
The complexity and thematic brilliance of Gigi and Dar cannot be expressed through words. The play slowly reveals its many layers as time progresses, in which time itself cannot be trusted! Whatever lens the audience views the play through alters its experience. Its intentionally unspoken location can mean or reference any number of conflicts, whether it be a current war or genocide, or an inner conflict of the soul.
Playwright Josh Azouz’s words are so delicate and detailed that they, ironically, transcend language. One of the most exciting playwrights of this age, Gigi and Dar’s world premier at Arcola is not one to be missed.