Reviewed by Guy Picot
MOLLY BLOOM REDUX is a 50 minute tour-de-force monologue, written and performed by the excellent Laura Campbell. Timed to celebrate “Bloom Day” the show is not officially part of the Hollywood Fringe but falls within the catchment area.
A simple bedroom set, designed by Molly Miller, is well-used by director Brad Barnes as Campbell shares Mrs. Bloom’s fears, hopes and dreams. There is a camera-person (Rocio Romero) on-stage throughout, sometimes providing close-ups of Molly’s face, fed live to a screen upstage. I found this to be an unnecessary distraction as the theatre is small enough to see everything clearly and the slight delay meant that the live sound and the relayed vision were slightly out of sync. I took it to be an ill-advised attempt to make the show seem hi-tech.
Jack Fleischer plays the thankless role of the sleeping Leopold Bloom, he adds a tension to the story-telling lest he wake. His very presence prompts the revelations and secrets that Molly shares, and she responds to his every toss and turn.
Campbell reveals Molly in layers, the anecdotes getting progressively more bawdy as she bemoans her lot.
This show is a must-see for any Joyce fans, and a perfect introduction to anyone without any prior knowledge.
About the show:
The premiere run of a new theatrical adaptation of the final chapter of James Joyce’s masterpiece, “Ulysses”, MOLLY BLOOM REDUX is a reimagining of Molly Bloom’s famous monologue – the controversial last chapter of the book – which Joyce himself described as “probably more obscene” than anything he’d previously written.
Northern Ireland-born Laura Campbell stars in this one-woman show which brings to life one of the most celebrated and complex streams of consciousness in modern literature. Throughout history Molly Bloom has been both reviled, celebrated, and banned. The play asks: what does Molly mean today?
Directed by Brad Barnes. The play is presented in partnership with the Contemporary Irish Arts Center of Los Angeles, at the Limbic Arthouse.
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