Elba
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Following his abdication in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba, where he was made sovereign. He remained there for around ten months, after which he escaped and returned to France, beginning the Hundred Days. This dynamic and engaging two-hander follows the deposed emperor and André Pons de l'Hérault, a French revolutionary turned administrator, living on Elba during these months. Having first met Napoleon at the Siege of Toulon in 1793, he developed a close and complicated friendship with the former general, eventually following him back to France during the Hundred Days.
Promising to improve infrastructure, rebrand the island’s image and increase trade ('Make Elba Great Again'), our narrator ‘Pons’ has to watch on in frustration as taxes are collected, Napoleon's garden gets landscaped and life for the average Elba inhabitant becomes increasingly strained. (The honey, however, is excellent.)
Elba uses a mixture of music, monologues, dialogue and beautifully choreographed physical movement to create a zippy, entertaining and thoughtful whistle-stop ride through this small but significant portion of European history. Modern humour and unexpectedly contemporary references are dropped in to bring levity, allowing unavoidable parallels to current events to be drawn. Both actors are phenomenal in their roles. The actor playing Napoleon delivers a performance that is just the right mixture of charismatic, idiosyncratic and ridiculous, while Pons is a true triple-threat, bringing heart and warmth to the part, functioning as much as a voice for Elba itself as the specific man he is depicting. Already fought over by almost everyone before Napoleon even got there, the little island stays 'sturdy' against all odds.
The movement pieces are a joy to watch, particularly the duets such as an early chess game between the two men and some of the more adversarial moments later in the story. There's a wit and light touch to the show that goes beyond the jokes themselves, and is never more present than in some of the physical expression. The songs are also surprise treats, with Napoleon's choice of an electro-ballad somehow inexplicably perfect.
Never boring, Elba races through its runtime, taking what could be a dry or uninviting subject matter and making it hugely entertaining while still remaining thoughtful and smart. Unique, funny and clever, Elba has moments of pathos and seriousness throughout, but reads overall as a joyful love letter to the robust nature of the human spirit.
★★★★.5
