Monks is the work of Canadian clowns and actors Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela, who welcome us – their first visitors in five years – to their Spanish monastery in the year 1157. Both are resplendent in full monk costumes, down to tonsure wigs (the traditional monk haircut.)
There’s limited character background provided, with one monk being the ignored youngest son of a nobleman and the other ‘born in that field,’ and both suffering from their vows of celibacy. I didn’t know the performers had considerable experience in clown before seeing the show, but it became very clear very fast as both venture repeatedly into the audience, taking selected possessions and doing some brilliant crowdwork with a reverberating mic, while checking who is ‘doing the bidding of Satan.’ Our two monks have work to do though, counting the yellow lentils – and getting the audience to help – before the abbott returns.
The show was almost full and all the better for it as the giggly audience provided a lot of fuel, at one point facilitating a truly spectacular storm sequence. Lujan and Hortigüela manage to be both charmingly funny and assertive, unflappably directing the action with 100% character commitment. The plot is somewhat flimsy, but it doesn’t matter, with things building to a genuinely touching conclusion. Luján and Hortigüela’s brilliant charm and charisma is on full display; clown rides or dies on the presence of the performers and the enthusiasm of the audience, and Monks has both in spades.
Monks is on at Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street (7.35pm) until the 29th August.