CAREFUL INJURIES (Other Case Notes Ensemble): 2015 Fringe review 56

Careful-Injuries_Other-Case-Notes-EnsembleComposed as a series of vignettes, CAREFUL INJURIES “began as an examination of physical states and expressions of comfort, fear, and exhaustion.” Entering the room, the audience finds three performers walking on an invisible grid. Beginning with this structure, the work uses imagery that evokes trauma, violence, and heartbreak. There is a tedium to the work, a constant tension of potential distress, exemplified by a solo in which a performer, holding a gun, face and head covered in red cloth, moves with extreme caution across a piece of metallic fabric. As she navigates the flooring cringing, shivering, and crying, she is at constant risk of popping the bubble wrap hidden underneath the fabric. It is hard to source the trauma; throughout it feels like both an exploration of metaphorical trauma and a recreation to be watched in real time.

The use of light is fascinating and often beautiful, especially in “Three”, a flashlight duet to “Con te Partiro”. The focus on “injuries” runs through all the works—in waiting, re-enacting, or simply getting by. The carefulness rests on the observation of a struggle without resolution. [Mascher Space Cooperative, 155 Cecil B. Moore Avenue] September 11-12, 2015; fringearts.com/careful-injuries.

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