In ‘The Coat’ two travelling actors stop on a country road to clarify an old trunk gag but are interrupted by the discovery of two stowaways. All roles seem to suddenly reverse and it is the interlopers that emerge in theatrical dress, perform and disappear into the night. If reminiscent of a slap stick Pandora’s box, perhaps what escapes here are the ghosts of traveling players past, figures who both used disguise and miscommunication as tools and like many who move from place to place are all too often open to misrepresentation and suspicion. Employing a rich miss en scene and strong gesture against stark narrative eclipses and a striking absence of subtitling the film puzzles how we read across incongruity.
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