Unlock the subconscious

Vivid puppetry, music and dance are all used to introduce the psychological struggle of multiple personality disorder in 'Boliloc'

By NADIA BEIDAS
boliloc (photo credit: )
boliloc
(photo credit: )
Philippe Genty and Mary Underwood's Boliloc takes a humorous, if not whimsical look into the world of multiple personalities. The show's inspiration, according to Genty, comes from a story of an abused man who developed 16 personalities. His disorder resulted in an artistic ability to produce paintings in both the style of a professional artist and of a child. The show opens with Alice, its main character, who suffers from multiple personality disorder, brought on by guilt for possibly having burned down her family's home as a child. The production constantly plays with perspective. Scenes tend to bleed in and out of each other with little or no logic. And the audience is given a dream-like window into Alice's subconscious. Magic and illusion are used to further present her childhood memories and feelings of guilt. Alice is a ventriloquist. Her two puppets demand their own personalities, which, of course, are surrogates for her own. Soon they all clash in anticipation of Alice facing her inner monster. Prior to the psychological showdown, the puppets take on human form with actors replacing them on stage. Her turmoil manifests without metaphor. A burning house is shown within Alice - her soul and memory on fire. But, she excises her demon with the help of the humans/puppets/personalities, who extract it from within. Luckily this journey through self ends with Alice coming to the conclusion that she was not responsible for the burning house. Inner peace is achieved and she, and the audience, can breathe easy. The journey to self-discovery is a difficult one, but the result is truth and self-actualization and everyone can go home entertained and happy. Boliloc plays on March 6 at 10 p.m. and 7 at 9 p.m. at the Herzliya Performing Arts Center, (1-700) 702-929; March 10 to 14 at 9 p.m. (at 1 p.m. on the 13th) at the Haifa Auditorium at 9 p.m., (04) 835-3506; March 17 to 18 at 8:30 p.m. at the Jerusalem Theater, (02) 560-5757; and, March 20 to 22 at 9 p.m. (at 2 p.m. on the 20th) at Tel Aviv's Beit Lessin Theater (03) 735-5333. Tickets cost from NIS 179 to 269.