Woof! A Werepunk is the tale of a murderous punk who makes nightly visits to the window of his beloved to declare himself. Sadly, his advances go unnoticed in this comic-book inspired, dark fairy tale and the ‘Werepunk’ must find a way winning her over.
This performance is not for everyone but it’s a fresh and brave piece of work from Italian-born Paulo Faroni who penned the show, then had it translated into English.
His soliloquies are, at times, particularly poetic and touching as he attempts to woo the unknown woman, the closest glimpse of whom we ever get is when she opens a door or switches on a light and the stage becomes illuminated.
Faroni takes the notion of falling in love and twists it into something selfish and dangerous. Love itself is an inexhaustible theme and with Woof! we see a curiously new approach. For this alone it should be congratulated. Faroni would rather show us the shameful consequences of being in love through the Werepunk’s deranged anger at his rejection. Love is viewed paradoxically as it becomes a consuming force which results in frustration, loneliness and murder.
Sexuality is also explored without taboo in this work. The programme itself gives a snapshot into what we can expect from the show; it consists of creased pages seemingly torn from a wordless comic book showing a woman in varying states of undress as she… enjoys herself.
The play opts for a Watchmen-inspired comic-book flavour which on the whole works well. There is more scope for playing with the idea though, through graphic drawings and lighting effects; both of which could potentially produce a slicker show.
Woof! A Werepunk is a little bare, perhaps requiring a stronger sense of direction. That aside, it is a bold and ambitious work - both thematically and visually - and executed nicely with a strong sense of identity and style.
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