Concrete Playground

Harry Harlow was a man fascinated by the nature of love and affection, but his desire to comprehend this took curious forms. As a psychologist, he investigated the significance of maternal affection by depriving monkeys of this care, then force mating these females and, eventually, isolating monkeys in his 'pit of despair' for up to two years. Talk about tough love. While 'scientific detachment' is a popular ideal, Harlow really took this stuff to a new level. That said, he also managed to cleanly dispose of those '50s notions of motherly love as a harmful indulgence, and opened the door to a new era of child psychology.

Transforming this complex and disturbing tale into live performance is challenging stuff. The Harry Harlow Project delves into Harlow's own psyche, drawing on the evidence that he later in life suffered from depression, as well as his work. Minimal props and a clever use of projections, with detached artists/scientists manipulating this technology, and a twisted, expressive physical performance by James Saunders make this production emphatic, haunting and surprisingly personal.