Intervention is an existential debate without a moderator

Jun 8, 2015 | by Senne Vercouteren | Art, Event

About the author

Having lived in London to study theater producing, Senne now selects the tastiest performances across Amsterdam and serves up the fine theatrical dishes this city has to offer.

Both in their late twenties, best friends Luna and Ravi have good banter, know a bit about life but are mostly full of questions about how to live and love. As Intervention unfolds, we become part of their worlds and no doubt recognize ourselves in some of their stories. Naomi Velissariou directs and stars in what swiftly turns into a surreal game show, staged by Luna to let Ravi know how she feels about their relationship. So far so good.

The second half, however, is flawed. It doesn’t live up to the promises made during the opening sequences, and hasn’t earned the right to take a full five minutes (which feel like an hour) to transform the stage into a modernist sculpture (set design by Marijn Alexander de Jong). The denouement is well written but also suffers from a lack of theatrical urgency, despite Bram Suijker’s very best efforts.

Intervention is often plain funny, such as when poking fun at the way people conform yet think they’re unique, or during a sequence when Luna and Ravi dance frantically to Beyoncé. The more serious moments, in which bit by bit the difficulties of life and happiness are unraveled and human inadequacies examined, take the shape of lengthy monologues and even a letter being read out loud in its entirety.

It is in these scenes that Intervention disappoints. The relationship between the two characters, sketched so astutely at the beginning, quickly becomes a lifeless byproduct of theoretical statements about the strains of modern life. It is ironic that a performance chiefly concerned with a friendship gone awry lacks a human touch itself.