What I liked
This is one of those pieces where it’s the performer shedding light on the subject. Knowing almost nothing about Klaus Kinski and sort of having to learn about it along the way, what takes over is this individual’s – Perez’s – evolving disillusionment with the world. You can see that he has transformed his body to meet the material in a way that witnessing his attack on performing Kinski is the portrayal of Kinski.
But the show isn’t really about the romance of Kinski. It’s the artist confronting his impotence and vitalities through the vehicle of the character. A kind of overview emerges from seeing that frayed ball of white hair crash around the space that makes me go, “Oh shit, the surprises, the complexities never end. Everything I thought I’ve set myself up to become aren’t reciprocated.”
So that’s a pretty powerful thought. And in this show we see the way Kinski and Perez go about it. One ordinary one extraordinary.
What I didn't like
I had heard that this piece has been developing for several years. That’s so great to hear and it shows. That moment when the space is revealed, the stupid bathroom and the curtain wall, that was a compelling change. Moments like that where the engagement goes beyond the spoken word are really exciting in a work like this.
My overall impression
Whoa. A nice work of rolling and tumbling and fraught emotion. This is one of those pieces where it’s the performer who sheds light on the subject.
