The Shattered Head

The life and work of the Leith-born artist Sir Eduardo Paolozzi is the subject of The Shattered Head, the latest production in the Traverse Theatre's A Play, A Pie and A Pint season. Written and directed by Graham Eatough and based on an original concept by Maggie Rose, the play attempts to delve into the mind and past of the surrealist artist, but unfortunately falls short of this ambitious goal.

Beginning in 2001, The Shattered Head follows Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (Michael MacKenzie) as he begins his slow recovery from a near-fatal stroke earlier that year. Now confined to a wheelchair, he attempts to re-learn basic motor skills with the help of a young Care Assistant (Louise Ludgate). But as he gradually improves, he finds himself revisiting the escapades of the much younger Paolozzi (Ian Bustard), including his difficult relationship with his family, and the search for his own identity.

Named after Paolozzi’s 1956 sculpture, The Shattered Head serves as a tribute to the late Scottish-Italian artist and the lasting impression he made on 20th century European art, but reveals precious little about the inspiration and drive of the man behind the craft. While various key points in his life are briefly revealed —his affair with a student, allegations of plagiarism and the deaths of his father, grandfather and uncle in the 1940 sinking of the SS Arandora Star—these succinct allusions do little to capture Paolozzi’s imagination and spirit.

Dominated by themes of surrealism, rehabilitation and alienation, Eatough’s production employs several dream sequences to depict some of Paolozzi’s most famous work. But these scenes, filled with references to the Pop Art movement and the staples of '50s Americana, serve little purpose other than to fill in the gaps in Paolozzi’s story.

The efforts of a talented cast compensate for what the play lacks in depth, especially striking is MacKenzie’s portrayal of the older, disabled Paolozzi, a beautifully realistic representation of the debilitating affects of a stroke on the body and mind. If only other aspects of his life were as poignantly presented.