“Dragon” and the Power of Silence

So I don’t normally do this, but I saw this play tonight called “Dragon” at the Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow and it was so amazing that I’m doing a review of it this week.

The performance starts with a death (classic). The rest of the story centers around Tommy, who is coping with his mother’s death when a giant dragon head appears outside his window. The kicker? There aren’t any lines. No one says a word until the very end.

There are so many different aspects of this production that I could comment on, so I’ll just examine a few.

There isn’t really a set per se, the pieces that make up Tommy’s world are moved around by the actors. Objects that get thrown are also moved by the actors, as well as the people when they get thrown around. On a similar note, all of the set and props pieces are incredibly detailed and intricately done. The kitchen table in the family’s kitchen has a ton of junk all over it. The fridge door has a light and several objects that are never even taken out of the fridge. Speaking as a props person, this was just beautiful.

The music is absolutely amazing. It fills up the emptiness from the lack of dialogue wonderfully well, and really puts you there with them. The recurring supernatural noises and small motifs immerse you in it so well. Add the fact that all the actors’ movements are lovingly choreographed to match it perfectly, and I’m drooling. All of the sound effects are in with it, and you just know that they rehearsed the heck out of that to get it perfect.

Then there’s the really important part. The enormous freaking dragon. Probably the main reason why I went to see this show, and you are not disappointed because it is one heck of a dragon. There are several dragon puppets, ranging from a head with a train to a full sized one with wings! They’re all different colors and seem to materialize out of the set (in some cases it literally does). Similar to the props notes above, the dragon is an amazing mechanical feat. It moves, breaths fire, and is remarkably dynamic. It is being clearly manipulated by the actors, so there isn’t any illusion here, but the puppets are remarkable enough that you probably aren’t going to care about that.

As far as the dragon as a symbol goes, I think that there’s a certain amount of ambiguity around here. If I was going to be pretentious, I would say that it’s the void Tommy’s mother left in physical form. But I’m not, so disregard that. The writer in the program even said that it’s just a dragon, and I think that’s my favorite interpretation.

I've tried to not discuss the plot so much (I mean you could also google the different stages of grief if you want a really basic summary) since it's not incredibly complicated or anything. But I think it's worth saying that everything works together so well to convey it that you don't miss the words at all. It really is a production of beauty.

Personal sidenote: Tommy is definitely asexual, I don’t even care that a girl flirts with him a little in the show, he’s got a dragon and is ace as hell and I love it. <3

This is such a well-done production, all of the different parts work together perfectly. It’s advertised in some places as a children’s show, but it really is great for all ages. The cast is amazing, the music is incredible, the set is intricate, and there’s a freaking dragon! What more could you want in a show?