Performance review: Trust Me, I’m a Doctor! Or, Faites-moi Confiance, Je Suis Médecin ! by Perry Mills

Abstract

that way’. While revealing a distressing reality, Cimino feels compelled to remind audiences that violence is perpetuated by a minority of individuals and that the islanders, even if they are surrounded by ‘tragedies’, should also enjoy laughter and self-deprecating humour. The frequent presence of sand on stage may be a reminder of the shortness of life: while celebrating the marriage of Claudiu and Ghertruda, glasses are filled with sand, the very same sand that will later be empty out of Claudiu and Larte’s glasses when they learn about Ofelia’s death and that will also be found again in buckets during the graveyard scene, where two clowns get ready for the woman’s funeral. More than perhaps a nod to Thomas Ostermeier’s production of Hamlet (2011), this scene might also be seen as a memento mori, staging an element (sand) that can be both a source of life and death and which invites the spectators to make the best of their lives while they can. With echoes of Ostermeier and Brecht, Cimino successfully weaves relevant local themes of violence and power into an entertaining and accessible Hamlet for a largely Corsican audience composed of students and the general public, while at the same time placing a spotlight on an endangered language worth preserving.