The Ego, created by Verona Verbakel and Anemone Valcke, does not quite hold to its titular theme. Although the performance begins with a series of sketches showing moments in the actors’ careers when their egos were either bolstered or challenged, the pair gradually begin to question the truth of these recollections. Are their egos truly the problem, or the armour that protects them?
This discussion of honesty is extended by behind-the-scenes clips of Verbakel and Valcke, as they debate how best to illustrate certain points on stage. In one such clip, Valcke appears reluctant to act out a nude sex scene with Verbakel. The exchange is almost uncomfortable to watch, and Verbakel ultimately argues to perform the scene alone. This is followed immediately by the scene itself. The rawness of these moments is one of the show’s strengths, with Verbakel’s funniest lines often landing between sobs in her many solo clips. Yet this also exposes a flaw: the two actors are funnier as individuals than as a duo. Too often, their stories bump up against each other without cohesion, as if two separate performances have been forced to share the same stage.
Valcke and Verbakel resist becoming mired in the gory details of their treatment as actresses. Instead, they choose to centre their own strength, “tallying up” the days they have survived, as advised by Verbakel’s mother. The show intertwines themes of trauma and truth, with Valcke repeatedly returning to and revising her story to show how she feels stifled by her position as a woman: both within the public eye and without a steady platform. Her eventual speech about her past as a child actress is deeply revealing, and one of the rare moments where the show feels fully confident, despite its shifting tone and varied storytelling mediums.
The Ego is awkward and ambitious, unstable and funny, and constantly struggling to contain its many themes within the confines of its title.
The show is running until 24 August at Playground 3 at Zoo Playground.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Alexandra Colmenares Cossio, provided to The Student as press material.