The Making of Bull: The True Story (Manchester)

Venue: Contact
Where: Manchester

“I’ll bet you’re wondering what the frig is going on.” Considering that Stacy Makishi makes this remark whilst preparing to cram into her mouth the legs of a pair of tights she is wearing on her head, you’d think the answer would be affirmative. Actually, The Making of Bull: The True Story (produced in collaboration with Will Munroe) is more frustrating than puzzling.
 
Makishi sets out to explore how we practice to deceive.She illustrates her lecture with references to the Coen Brothers’ film Fargo which, in addition to being about the tragedies arising from a fake kidnapping, misleadingly claimed to be based on a true story.

She uses examples from the film to show how body language reveals deception. She makes links to the report of a delusional woman frozen to death trying to find the ransom from the film and to a child from her neighbourhood who was kidnapped. The wordplay is stunning ‘whole’ becomes ‘hole’ that leads to ‘donut hole’. In the emotional climax to the show Makishi reveals that, like a donut, she is defined by what is missing – the mother who disappeared when she was a child.
 
Makishi makes use of highly imaginative performance art techniques to bring the lecture to vivid life including mimicking the stuttering images from the film. Mysterious pauses in which Makishi is trapped in ecstasy make sense when a startling piece of naked theatre shows a volunteer unknowingly illustrating the concept.
 
But this artist refutes her argument that art should deepen life by using her techniques to conceal feelings and distract from the truth. Having brought the show to a logical emotional climax and taken a bow she misleads the audience by using a Q&A session to re-start the show.

It is as though Makishi would prefer to cover up the truth she has revealed or pretend that it really didn’t matter- it was just part of the show. This might actually fit within the concept of the show if Makishi admitted that she was practising deception but, as it continues, the show becomes more scattershot to the extent that she has to tell the audience that the show has ended when it reaches her preferred climax.

Stacy does herself few favours by constantly referring to the work of the Coen Brothers. No matter how impenetrable their work might seem there is always a heavily pregnant sheriff or past his prime bounty hunter seeking redemption to remind audiences that humanity is paramount. Makishi on the other hand offers dazzling displays of technique that impress but ultimately fail to engage.

– Dave Cunningham