Italy's Societas Raffaello Sanzio are here again with Genesi, a work created and directed by Romeo Castelluci. Having been seriously alienated by their Giulio Cesare two years ago, I went resolved to be more open-minded, to let their opaque art wash over me. The following summary might thus be considered as notes from a drowning man.
Act One begins with a cadaverous man trying to squeeze through an almost-closed gate. To do so, he removes his clothes, a harbinger of the nudity to come. Seemingly random events follow. A mechanical reptile chatters and twitches; a single-breasted old woman appears; a caged contortionist gets into knots; the ground heaves.
Act Two has only children, dressed in white with tight hoods and looking like little aliens. They do childish things; use a potty, play with toys, cavort a bit. Then two of them gang up on a third to cut his throat. A chandelier descends from the flies, and there is more vague action.
The final act begins with two large dogs roaming the stage, which also harbours two young men naked to the waist. One plays with a giant hoop; the other, who has a malformed arm, circles behind him and strangles him. The murderer undresses, is crowned by the grotesque old woman and then killed by his resuscitated victim.
The programme notes suggests themes drawn from Adam and Eve, Madame Curie, Auschwitz and Cain, but I could make only the most tenuous connections with these. What I saw was a cavalcade of recondite gimmicks, too many of the how-did-he-do-that variety, and a creative imagination run amok.
Until Saturday, 7.30pm
The Dublin Theatre Festival booking number is 01-6772600