As part of Malthouse Theatre’s program, UK company Reckless Sleepers present a performance piece that involves 39 audience members seated at tables, the reading of famous last words written on rice paper then eaten, and the serving of some of the final meals requested by prisoners on death row, Texas. The show has been touring various countries since 2004 so its intriguing concept and unique format certainly has given it longevity.
If you were hoping for an experience that might resonate with you afterwards or cause you to deeply reflect on life and mortality and the death penalty, you may be disappointed. The last words of famous figures from mostly Western history are delivered in a fairly straight-forward manner, occasionally with physical acting thrown in; some of these are whimsical, some tragic, some comedic, some simply unremarkable. The few times the three performers step outside their usual delivery make the biggest statements. The prisoners’ last meals are brought out to certain audience members by waiters as the prisoner details and meal descriptions are read out; the audience reacts most to these parts.
Perhaps the Great Hall is too vast an environment for such an intimate performance, although it does add to the grandeur of it all; our ears eventually adjust to the echoes but the impact of the soundtrack of final pieces and songs, as well as the performers’ voices as they’re reenacting famous people’s final moments of life, could have hit harder in a smaller, clearer space. Ultimately, it feels like an exercise in observation at a morbid trivia night presented in a fancy dinner party setting.
