Andrew
Templeton: Radix Theatre
Two
features have defined the recent work of
Vancouver’s Radix theatre – the use of site-specific locations and the
direct
participation of the audience. The tension between a specific
environment and
the individual response to that environment is important in decoding
and
understanding their work. Radix – which works in an interdisciplinary,
collaborative manner – explores the largely hidden narratives that work
below
the surface of different locations whether in a furniture showroom, a
sex
clinic or a car. Locations are not simple settings or thematic tools
but
integral to experience that exists within the audience members and in
the
performance. Radix explores two sites: the environment and the human
body. It’s
not so much that the world is a stage, but rather that each environment
we
experience has a theatrical component that impacts on us directly,
forcing us
to `act’ in a certain manner.