Gaudí, God’s Architect ★★☆☆☆

Gaudí, God’s Architect ★★☆☆☆

Gaudí, God’s Architect takes on an ambitious subject: telling the story of one of Spain’s most extraordinary and recognisable creative minds. There is clearly passion behind this local production, and at its heart are some genuinely interesting ideas and moments of solid writing.

The production moves at a fast pace, using a simple set and an impressive commitment to the transformative power of a good hat to move between characters, places and periods in Gaudí’s life. There is also plenty of interesting historical and biographical information woven through the piece, offering an accessible introduction to the man behind the architecture.

At this stage, however, the production feels like it is still finding the best way to translate that material from page to stage. The text can become overly complicated, while some of the blocking and characterisation would benefit from further development. Accents also shift noticeably within individual characters, occasionally distracting from the storytelling rather than supporting it.

There are some technical elements that could be easily addressed. In several sections, the background music competes with the performers, making dialogue difficult to hear. Greater balance here would immediately allow more of the writing to shine through.

Perhaps the biggest missing element is a stronger sense of Spanish identity. Gaudí and his work are so intrinsically connected to Catalonia and its culture that the production would benefit enormously from bringing more of that soul, atmosphere and sense of place into the room.

There is potential in Gaudí, God’s Architect, particularly in its subject matter and informational content. With further development of its staging, character work and theatrical identity, there is a much stronger production waiting to emerge. Right now, though, it feels like a work still on its journey towards being fully Fringe-ready.

★★☆☆☆