Cristina In The Cupboard

28 July 2016 | 6:43 pm | Sam Baran

"A very surreal but emotionally engaging performance."

Cristina In The Cupboard
explores the line between what happens in our heads and the reality of the world around us. In this 90-minute dose of magical realism, we follow Cristina, a confused woman who takes a road no longer much taken, withdrawing completely from the world around her into the not-so-quiet of her own head — the cupboard of the title. In the Depot Theatre's production of Paul Gilchrist's play, the fantastic beachside landscape of her head is populated by the family and friends she's cut herself off from, including one who lurks, troll-like, in the background, searching for fun.

The consequences of her decision are ephemeral and hard to pin down in the ghostly, shifting world she inhabits. Much of Cristina's time is spent sitting in the sand, hugging her knees, as people around her try to get through to her, invoking past relationships and the emotional cost that her "selfish" decision is inflicting upon them. But since the cast apart from Cristina are all wraiths summoned by her mind, it is impossible to discern reality from fiction and disentangle her own perception of things from what may exist beyond in the world we never see. Cristina In The Cupboard's strange flow and the Depot Theatre's incredible beach set make for a very surreal but emotionally engaging performance.