Odd Enjinears are an Amsterdam-based company of theatre-makers, artists and musicians. The divisions between each discipline are consciously and deliberately blurred in their work. Lienz was a show about time and how it affects us. The set was a huge frame divided into three rooms. In the centre was a large medieval-style clock with a pendulum. Ropes were attached to the axle of the clock and spread to all parts of the structure where they were attached to all sorts of domestic items.
A figure cycles on to the set and sets the pendulum swinging, which causes the clock to start ticking, which causes the axle to start winding the ropes, which causes all manner of effects, sounds and accidents to happen. The material qualities of each object are exploited – balloons burst, kettles whistle, trapdoors spring open and bellows deflate. The interest lies in the inventive and amusing way in which objects are juxtaposed and how they are used.
There are three characters in the performance all trapped in their environments, all at the mercy of events triggered off by time ticking away and all struggling to make sense of their situation. At times there was so much going on that you were not sure where to look and at times the sounds were so small you were straining to hear. This was the show's strength, however. Rather than bombard us with sensation it made us sit up and look and – what is more – allowed us time to do that.