Solaris

Synopsis

Aboard a scientific research station orbiting the planet Solaris, the plot follows psychologist Kris Kelvin, sent to the planet to study the ocean covering its surface. On arrival, he is confronted by a painful, hitherto unconscious memory, embodied in the physical likeness of a long-dead former lover. As other scientists aboard the ship appear to suffer similar torments, questions arise about what the 'ocean' really is. Could it be a sophisticated organism capable of incarnating the memories? Can humans truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?

Our Review:

21 November 2012

Adapting Solaris for fringe theatre is possibly the bravest thing a director could do. The 1961 novel by Polish author Stanislaw Lem, adapted to epic proportions by Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 and not so epically by Steven Soderbergh in 2002, is an exceptionally philosophical work.

The story is centred on a group of scientists who are researching the planet Solaris from a space station. At first it appears that the sentient planetıs oceans are causing the scientists to hallucinate but it slowly becomes apparent that it is in fact causing each of them to manifest someone from their past. These figures from the past represent their deepest flaws and regrets, forcing the scientists to confront them.

Given that this is the stage premiere of the novel it's a testament to director Dimitry Devderiani's balls as it is to being a good indication that this one is extremely difficult to reproduce for theatre.

Nevertheless Devderiani and cast make a damn fine job o...

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Latest User Review

Azam - 4 December 2012:

3 stars? Oh I think this reviewer is verging on the ridiculous. This show is 2h20m long and filled and almost total filled with metaphysically purple prose without seeming to be grounded in the characters at all. Those of us who hadn't seen the film didn't have a clue what was going on and some of the rest of us just fell asleep on the back row. Awful :(...

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