'It's Your Film'- Stans Cafe

-

Stans Cafe are a Birmingham based theatre company, who have worked since 1991 under the direction of co-founder, James Yarker. In 1998 the company created their performance ‘It’s Your Film’, which had a total running time of just four minutes, with only one audience member present at a time. Lucky for us, the show has been resurrected for a modern audience and I got the pleasure of seeing it.

The audience member is positioned inside a pitch black booth with a narrow hole in front of them. Suddenly the show springs to life, and a mirage of images flashes before their eyes; a wedding ring, an intense telephone conversation, a city skyline and a smoker just to name a few.  

For a four minute show the company don’t half pack in their content! A mixture of mirror and lighting trickery, and what the company describes as ‘Victorian illusion’ blends to seamlessly replicate the camera angles, cross fades and scenes of a real film, and having the opportunity to witness their techniques from backstage following the show was truly eye-opening. I am not one to be a spoiler so I shall simply remain at the word fascinating.

If I’m being honest I could not tell you what the story line was. The rate at which the clips flashed by, and the lack of words meant deciphering it yourself, but I personally think there’s a charm in allowing the audience to make up their own minds about what’ just happened, and letting the clever illusions breathe. I would however have liked at least a few words, just three even, to steer my mind in a direction and give the piece some context. There was an intenseness throughout but, save for the deep rumbling audio, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, so this may be a valuable addition.

I was also lucky enough to speak with the director after the performance, who discussed with me the desire to extend this to a longer piece, allowing a fully realised performance to be shown. However, with the trickery necessary to pull off such illusions, an audience of one is ideal, and Yarker explained the unrealistic practicality of extending its length, while maintaining its limited audience.

Overall, this performance, while unclear what the story line itself was, created some extremely thought provoking imagery, and astounded me with its methods. The scenes appeared as if they were straight from a screen, being performed live in front of you, and this was a brilliant trick of the eye. There is also the interesting aspect that while you are watching them, you are the only audience member, so their eyes are also on you. While unsettling, this adds yet another layer of depth onto an already complex piece, which somehow is fitted into a matter of minutes! A brilliant performance to watch, and an even more brilliant piece to watch from back stage. Congratulations all on this success.

This show is running until 12th May at The Landsdowne, 25 Hagley Road. Tickets are FREE, so I highly recommend you see it while you have the chance!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'The Lovely Bones'- Bryony Lavery

-
A subtle experiment with physical theatre retells Alice Seabold’s much loved novel with a unique and imaginative flare. Lavery had a big task on her hands to portray this particularly sensitive story, which follows the perspective of young Sophie Salmon as she watches over her family, following her rape and murder. This performance was strangely heart-warming considering the subject matter, while also leaving not a dry eye in the house, and this was very much down to director Melly Still’s creative eye, which drew heavily from physical theatre. She still however managed to maintain an essence of that traditional theatre style audiences are comfortable with, and this was a clever approach, so as to not scare traditionalists away. That being said, as a lover of contemporary performance I feel she could have pushed those elements further and produced a real dazzling spectacle. Designer Ana Inés Jabares-Pita did a fascinating job with her vast angled mirror, which sat at the back ...
Read more

'The Animals and Children Took to the Streets'- 1927

-
Founded in 2005, ‘1927 Theatre Company’ are well-renowned for merging projected animation with live performance to create beautifully polished performances, gaining them numerous awards since their establishment. Their quirky style is reminiscent of a Tim Burton movie, combining comedy with a pinch of dark humour – a cabaret show with a live soundtrack played by the performers themselves. On the 8 th February, ‘1927’ performed their well-loved piece, ‘The Animals and Children Took to the Streets’, at the HOME Theatre, Manchester. There’s a place in the city called Red Herring Street. An unloved, dingy and dank thoroughfare, where shops sell stolen goods, and prostitutes, paedophiles and murderers live in the flats upstairs. One day, Agnes Eaves and her daughter Evie movie in to the Bayou mansions. Armed with pasta bows and PVA glue, she aims to save the children from a life where “when you’re born in the Bayou, you die in the Bayou”. Riots break out, as the children of Red Herri...
Read more

'Talking Heads'- Mel Brimfield

-
Image
Commissioned by Attenborough Arts Centre, visual artist Mel Brimfield created the ‘Talking Heads’ exhibition, which draws predominantely from themes of mental health. The work displays an array of multi-media instillations, film, and comic style images, depicting the experiences of those living from and recovering from psychosis. It draws from Brimfield’s own research at the Department of Psychosis Studies at Kings College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and the National Psychosis Unit at Bethlem Hospital, London. ‘I cannot shake the idea that I am an imposter’ ‘My father refuses to accept my brothers’ diagnosis of schizophrenia’ ‘As the sands pass through the hourglass, I am conscious of a sense of increasing regret with no fixed palpable source’ Just a few of the phrases from Brimfield’s ‘NUTS: The Remembrance of Things Past’, where the peanuts character Lucy is used as a psychiatrist to the artist, who’s speech bubbles of therapy sessions fill the ...
Read more