Review of Live Performance: Notes from Underground

The Underground Man's many complexities are exposed through the direction of Bill Peters, as well as through the austere onstage furnishings and severe, bare lighting, revealing Litzky's character in all his emotional and psychological nakedness. Alone on his sliver of stage, the Underground Man is examined by the audience as he shouts abuse to an indifferent world. The rich symbolism that Peters integrates into his creative choices, reflect on the Underground Man's nature, and the audience is able to discern the almost Freudian connotations behind each decision. For example, the prostitute, Liza, one of the Underground Man's numerous subjects of endless scrutiny, is symbolised by a bare light-bulb on a stand, which he turns on and off at any mention of her name. The light globe could be interpreted as a physical representation of several things; that Liza is the metaphoric light that the Underground Moth is drawn to; that as a prostitute, she can be turned on and off as easily as any light switch; that she is the only light of his life; or that everything else dulls in comparison to her shining presence. …