Theatre review: An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs
What is the value of a hug? This new South Australian play wraps the audience in its arms as it takes a microscopic look at a form of affection that permeates our lives.
“Feed your feelings. Take care. Enjoy.”
These are the words the playwright of An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs speaks before the lights dim in the Goodwood Theatre. We are tightly packed in on opening night, surrounding a luxurious-looking armchair adorned with pillows and blankets on a raised platform.
Sole performer Claire Glenn then speaks the intertwined stories poetically laced with heartache, humour, and autobiography. A rolling soundtrack by Sascha Budimski guides the audience throughout as the play explores the peculiarities and subtle joys of hugs.
Written by Sarah Peters and directed by Elisa Lovell, An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs follows a 30-something woman named Juno (after the Roman goddess of love and marriage; names are important in this text) as she retells the cataloguing of her list of all the varied hugs she’s experienced throughout her life. In this world-premiere production presented by South Australian Playwrights Theatre, we follow Juno through multiple vignettes in a monologue that is part spoken word poetry, part dramatic monologue, which hopes to provide a “hug for our souls”.
From passive-aggressive hugs, to the slightly over-confident, the unwanted, and hugs that keep you upright at a funeral, the play serves up an interesting premise for a microscopic look at a form of affection that permeates our lives.
Claire Glenn in An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs. Photo: Jamois
There is a delight in observing the fluidity of the storytelling and the integration of dynamic technical elements by production designer Bianka Kennedy and Budimski, although sometimes the play wrenches us back and forth between idiosyncratic anecdotes so quickly we don’t have a chance to fully reckon with it. Glenn’s performance, under Lovell’s direction, elegantly manages the quick portrayal of complex characters, emotional stakes, and the stylised text. However, sometimes the writing style undercuts the potential for great pathos between the audience and performer.
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An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs shares a similar theatrical motif with Every Brilliant Thing, by English playwright Duncan Macmillan, in a “list” of moments that try to evoke nostalgia or a feeling with which audiences can relate. The latter play features a call-and-response aspect, as pieces of paper are distributed throughout the audience that form the playwright’s list. In this play, though, the list is more passive, with Juno describing the idiosyncrasies of the hugs she’s experienced as she retells relationships and losses in her life.
There is a likely air of autobiography on Peters’ part, and we can’t help relating to the specifics of the moments described. One wonders, however, if the production could have emphasised the “round-the-kitchen-table” style of storytelling by creating a more intimate or interactive environment in the room.
An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs is a delicate night at the theatre, and serves well as a temporary balm for the soul. These days, we all probably need to remember the value of hugs.
South Australian Playwrights Theatre is presenting An Incomplete Encyclopedia of Hugs at Goodwood Theatres and Studio until November 10.