Red Head Reflection

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 ...

As part of De Montfort Universities ‘Cultural Exchanges week’, ‘Zoo Indigo’ performed their show ‘Celluloid Souls’ on the 1 st March. Made up of 2 friends, Ildiko Rippel and Rosie Garton, the company, formed in 2002, create almost slapstick multi-media productions, performed in both English and German. After booking tickets for this show, you are urged to fill out a questionnaire detailing your film memories, including your favourite scene, which character you would like to be, and a memorable cinema experience. These create the foundation for the performance, which therefore is different every time, based on the audience. A post-modern exploration of cinema, this performance cleverly recreates scenes from film, with a mixture of pre-recorded footage, film clips, and live camera work. Rippel and Garton, humorously incorporate household objects into their bizarre re-enactment of scenes, making expert use of camera trickery to imitate the intricate clips. We saw the pair in...

If you’re a theatre person then you already know the name ‘Frantic Assembly’ - a dynamic and internationally renowned physical theatre company, who make wonderfully expressive and visceral productions that have been amazing audiences since they were founded in 1994. They are one of the most studied companies, inspiring numerous young people to get involved in theatre, most significantly through their Ignition program. On the 13th February they performed their new touring show ‘The Unreturning’ at The Curve Theatre, Leicester. Exploring the after effects of war from three contrasting eras, past, present and future, the performance examined what coming home really means, and exposed the grim truth: home changes. We are introduced to three characters; George, a valiant soldier in 1918 suffering from PTSD, longing to regain his old life with Rose, his wife; Frankie, a laddish soldier in 2013, discharged from his position after attacking a civilian, who is no longer seen as a hero, b...

Gecko is an internationally acclaimed physical and visual theatre company, which has been experimenting with movement, multi-lingual texts, and audience interpretations since 2000. Led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav, the company work tirelessly over several years to produce each individual show. On the 29th January I watched their performance of 'Missing' at The Nottingham Playhouse', and was also fortunate to be part of an after show discussion with the cast, and Lahav himself, which proved extremely beneficial to the piece. The Performance takes us on an exploration of the life of Lily (Katie Lusby), who finds herself trapped between quarrelling parents, a love life with no spark, a job that is overwhelming her, and a pressure to maintain her Spanish family heritage. Lily’s soul is described as ‘decaying’, and we are presented with an emotional journey to find herself again. Later in the discussion, it was interesting to learn that this concept stemmed f...