Gecko Theatre CompanyLatest Update following a tour in Brazil and Colombia;
In January 2008 I read The Overcoat, a short story by Gogol. Then followed 2 years of exploration and performances, craft and evolution. Our last performances to date were in Bogota, Colombia and I changed a few scenes which I felt were not working. Our journey of evolution never stops and I feel that we are always sensitive and available to continue our craft with the creation of any show.
Update from Artistic Director Amit Lahav after development work on the show in July 2008;
“For me it was essential, as with all Gecko shows, to understand the world of The Overcoat. This could mean many things for different people making theatre, for me, I need to have some understanding of the physicality of the space and therefore a sense of the show's potential geography - what could happen where and the potential movement from one scene to another.
The first development period has allowed me to dream up a Gecko world of scenes, characters, music and movement. I have created a first draft storyboard which has given devising weeks with a company a clear focus. I feel like we have reached the end of the first part of making The Overcoat. Gecko's version will at times respond as a magnifying glass to gogol's atmospheres; Gogol's 'department' becomes an office playground of levels - floating desk areas and an apparent labyrinth of corridors created by the repetitive, routine movement sequences that take an impossible route around this meaningless 'department'.
At other times, I have found inspiration in Gogol's short story - In our version, Akakii (the underdog protagonist who needs a new coat!) is obsessed with a woman who works in the department (There is no such female character in the short story),and who dates the forever being promoted, assistant head clerk!
This will be a magical world that partly occurs 'to' Akakii and partly takes place in his imagination. The ordinary dull walls of his life in friction with the extraordinary inner world of his imagination. The coat itself represents a gateway for change. Get the overcoat, get the girl and ultimately change who I am in this world.”
Keep checking here for updates on the project.