Columbus On Trial

“Columbus on Trial, 1992” presents, in 18 minutes, a fanciful version of a courtroom trial as it might transpire in contemporary times, were Christopher Columbus to return from his grave to take the stand. The setting is an imaginary courtroom that serves as a repository of memories and images recounting the deromanticized exploits of the famous explorer in the island of Hispaniola. Sobriety has no place in “Columbus on Trial, 1992.” In its courtroom, satire and parody rule. Christopher Columbus dances the mambo, Storm Cloud cries crocodile tears, and Bob Oso compares his client to Gerard Depardieu. The lyrics and tunes of popular songs waft in and out of the proceedings. Invented costumes and stylized sets give the comedy an indeterminate period setting, while the use of modern video techniques place the characters in a constantly-shifting environment of layered images (postcards, archival footage, and postage stamps) that obliquely comment on the proceedings. “Columbus on Trial, 1992” is an unusually dynamic piece, employing a complex visual construction to match its verbal humour and physical comedy. Images are edited, collage-like, interrupting each other, as a constant run of puns and gags interrupts all pontificating. Al last, people´s carnivalesque desire to laugh at the horrors of history has been granted full rein.