Theatre / Reviews
Review: Split Ends, Loco Klub – ‘A raw, brave and visceral gut punch that will linger long in the mind’
A series of dark, dank cellars by Bristol Temple Meads that usually doubles as a nightclub is the appropriate setting for Split Ends, an emotional rollercoaster of a one-woman show that tears into the equally dark dynamics of a relationship dominated by coercive control.
Claudia (played by Australian actor/writer Claudia Schnier) is a physically strong, statuesque woman who in any other circumstances wouldn’t take an ounce of shit from anyone.
But when she falls in love with a controlling man, the vulnerabilities that have dogged her since childhood – in particular an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder centred around her hair – are dragged into the theatrical equivalent of an open and bleeding wound.
The unnamed man is represented by a vacuum cleaner that sucks the lifeforce from Claudia, as he initially promises the earth before withdrawing what passes for his undying ‘love’ – and then does it all over again, and again. A pair of scissors represents his mouth that is filled with so many honeyed words as he gaslights Claudia, sending her to the point of derangement.
Claudia Schnier, Split Ends – photo: Sergei Sarakhanov
The action unfolds against video projections of Claudia’s inner consciousness, the voices berating and chiding her for becoming so powerless against the force of her abuser. Simultaneously, a blaring dance soundtrack maps the wildness of her mind as she battles with her emotions while trying to justify what is happening to her.
The play is full of raw, visceral energy and by no stretch of the imagination is it an easy watch. Yet, there is levity at work too; a scene in which Claudia discovers one of the man’s black hairs on her floor turns into a multimedia riff on the queasy feeling that his hairs have somehow come to life and are threatening to take over both her house and her mind.
Photo: Sergei Sarakhanov
The impact of the whole episode on Claudia’s mental health is shockingly real, and it takes a brave and bold performer to reveal the depths to which the mind can sink as a result of such abuse. There is a depressing feeling that the whole male/female relationship dynamic is, to a greater or lesser extent, inevitably based around domination, submission and control (leaving this reviewer wondering if there really is such a thing as ‘a decent bloke’).
Yet there is room for redemption, witnessed in the play’s finale that reclaims the power balance. Even so, a final short video of the horrifying (and real) moment Schnier catches a glimpse of her ex-partner through a window as she rehearses the performance is a weird and unsettling image that stays in the mind long after this gut-punch of a performance is over.
Photo: Sergei Sarakhanov
Split Ends (age recommendation 18+) is at Loco Klub on April 28-29 at 8pm. Tickets are available at www.headfirstbristol.co.uk. Follow the artist at @shnierclaudia.
Main photo: Claudia Schnier
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