Luigi Pirandello received the Nobel prize for literature in 1934. It was awarded for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." His first expolorations of his central theme, truth and reality, took the form of novels. Later he turned to theatre to continue that exploration, in 1921 writing Six characters in search of an author. The six characters have assumed a life off the page and are demanding an author to write them into a play, their original creator having given up the task. The characters object to the way actors act out their drama, implying that only they know the true sequence of events and can represent themselves best. This is the premise of the play, and characteristically for Pirandello its aim is to investigate levels of illusion and reality. 
      In this version, though, there are no levels of illusion, just a bunch of inexperienced actors who have difficulty creating anything - let alone illusion - out of Pirandello's complex scenario. Because the cast lacked range, the stage they played on was simply too big for them; they failed to do what the play demands, whih is to establish intimacy with the audience. 
      The most interesting period of the performance for this reviewer was its ambiguous beginning. Half the actors were on the stage, milling around as if at rehearsal. The audience wondered whether the play had started or not. The ebb and flow of conversation as the audience waited, and what made for these changes in audience dynamic, was the highlight of the evening. The rest was disappointment. 
      This play is a challenging one for any audience. Speeches declaimed from the front of the stage explore theories about what is real and when an illusion becomes reality. In an age where the media always stands between us and any significant event, the question of what is illusion and what is fact - and how facts can change depending on the perspective from which they are represented - is a pertinent one. It is therefore a pity that this performance does not give us - to employ the Nobel citation's terms - "a brilliant and bold renovation" of Pirandello's most important play.
Anna Lehmann