The Cool Room
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Nominated for Green Room Award
The Cool Room is a powerful, sophisticated work, extremely well acted and directed The Age Directed with intensity and precision by Deborah Leiser-Moore, Gabrielovich’s play The Cool Room is disturbing, surreal and darkly comic. Melbourne Times Leiser-Moore finds a physical language for the performers that choreographs the moral twists in an increasingly claustrophobic space . Real Time Magazine Leiser-Moore brought intuition and an innovative physicality to the piece Sydney Morning Herald |
Performed at:
2002 La Mama Theatre, Melbourne 2003 Belvoir St Theatre Sydney as part of Carnival Festival 2003 Union Theatre, Melbourne University Nominated for a Green Room Award |
‘A terrorist sits in a café, the waiter comes to him and asks ‘would you like anything else?’
The terrorist rubs his belly and says, ‘oh no, I’m just about ready to explode…’
In a Mediterranean restaurant in Melbourne, the door of a meat cool room slams shut. Locked inside are two chefs. One Israeli. One Lebanese. Neighbours. Enemies. A shared history. As they slowly freeze the meat carcasses become animated and like an ancient Greek chorus challenge, direct and confront the two men by becoming witnesses, victims, and perpetrators. While their body temperature drops and the two men are literally freezing to death, they are forced to confront the voice of the other. A voice they never heard. Questions they have never asked or been asked. Haunted by
their past. Can they forgive? Can they overcome their fear of the other.
The Cool Room is dynamic, physical and provocative theatre. The situation leads the characters to reveal their hidden thoughts of each other. Working side by side but never allowing their suspicions or mistrust to surface, they are finally free to speak the unspoken in this often humorous yet confronting exchange.
Directed/Dramaturgy by: Deborah Leiser-Moore
Written by: Sivan Gabrielovich
Lighting Design: Nicolas Pijanti
Performed by:
Matt Crosby, Majid Shokor, Rodney Afif, Karen Therese, Alex Ben Mayor and Dinos Tsetonis
PRESS:
The Age
Sydney Morning Herald
The terrorist rubs his belly and says, ‘oh no, I’m just about ready to explode…’
In a Mediterranean restaurant in Melbourne, the door of a meat cool room slams shut. Locked inside are two chefs. One Israeli. One Lebanese. Neighbours. Enemies. A shared history. As they slowly freeze the meat carcasses become animated and like an ancient Greek chorus challenge, direct and confront the two men by becoming witnesses, victims, and perpetrators. While their body temperature drops and the two men are literally freezing to death, they are forced to confront the voice of the other. A voice they never heard. Questions they have never asked or been asked. Haunted by
their past. Can they forgive? Can they overcome their fear of the other.
The Cool Room is dynamic, physical and provocative theatre. The situation leads the characters to reveal their hidden thoughts of each other. Working side by side but never allowing their suspicions or mistrust to surface, they are finally free to speak the unspoken in this often humorous yet confronting exchange.
Directed/Dramaturgy by: Deborah Leiser-Moore
Written by: Sivan Gabrielovich
Lighting Design: Nicolas Pijanti
Performed by:
Matt Crosby, Majid Shokor, Rodney Afif, Karen Therese, Alex Ben Mayor and Dinos Tsetonis
PRESS:
The Age
Sydney Morning Herald
