The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other, The National Theatre (Lyttelton), London

Rating: ***/5

Wednesday, 6 February 2008.

The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other could hardly be defined as a play. By its very nature, it resists pigeonholes like "play" and "plot" with a staunch, experimental skew that's difficult for many mainstream theatergoers to accept.

Its "playwright," possibly better referred to as a "creator" or "formulator," is none other than Peter Handke. Revolutionizing experimental theatre with his 1966 piece, Offending the Audience, Handke's plays are more commonly critical -- rather than popular -- successes.

The inspiration from The Hour... comes from a specific afternoon of observation in Handke's life. His description of the experience, was for me, a key factor in my deriving a deeper understanding of the piece, and so I quote Handke below:

"The trigger for the play was an afternoon several years ago. I'd spent the entire day on a little square in Muggia near Trieste. I sat on the terrace of a cafe and watched life pass by. I got into a state of real observation, perhaps this was helped along a bit by the wine. Every little thing became significant (without being symbolic). The tiniest procedures seemed significant of the world. After three or four hours, a hearse drew up in front of a house, men entered and came out with a coffin, onlookers assembled and then dispersed, the hearse drove away. After that the hustle and bustle continued -- the milling of tourists, natives and workers. Those who came after this occurrence didn't know what had gone on before. But for me, who had seen it, everything that happened after the incident with the hearse seemed somewhat coloured by it. None of the people milling on the square knew anything of each other -- hence the title. But we, the onlookers see them as sculptures who sculpt each other through what goes on before and after. Only through what comes after does that which has gone on before gain contours; and what went on before sculpts what is to come.

And this quote from Handke serves to accurately describe, essentially, what The Hour... comprises. The sparse setting of the town square by Hildegard Bechtler, effectively lit by Jean Kalman, serves as an intersection point for 450 characters played by 27 actors with no dialogue. Some are everyday people; others are characters from myth or the past. And each is shaped by what has come before and shapes what is yet to come. 

Does all of this seem a bit artsy fartsy? Well, it is. And it's not a theatrical exercise that will appeal to all. Because of the quick, witty direction from James Macdonald, I came out of the experience having felt I'd grasped this spirit of connection and intersection that Handke set forth, but the piece's ending left me ultimately dissatisfied. 

If you're up for a night of avant-garde theatre in London and willing to look outside the box, try out The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other and decide for yourself whether it's a load of bunk or the embodiment of a worthwhile musing on humanity.