Layne and Sicha, May 1st 2009 – An Analysis

In a deliberate nod to the Malaysian New Wave, this week’s episode features Ken Layne seated at a rather portentous angle, demonstrating from the start the serious nature of “the conversation” between himself and Choire Sicha. Again, the traditional narrative is broken apart with the free-wheeling nature of the dialogue – Sicha rolls on the floor like a child overdosing on hormone replacement therapy, while Layne revels in multiple layers of absurdism by conducting his “half” of “the conversation” from a stable. Is there an underlying point to be garnered by the use of a “stable” in these rather unstable times? Layne’s “location” is referred to in several instances, but, like Rene Clair’s “Ballet Mecanique” (1924), we are left to make the connection ourselves.