Leftovers
,
School Lane
3rd December 2010
Reviewed by
Leftovers are often considered as just that. Unwanted, tarred with the
brush of abandonment to the point of being undesirable. Normally a term
associated with food, this time it references the slow burning set of
performances I witnessed at an excellent show at the Bluecoat.
Opening with the occasionally over repetitive 'She was a Knife Thrower's
Assistant', the silence in the possibly overstretched piece was sometimes
deafening for this reviewer (although that may be just my feeling as a
person who reviews music gigs as well!), but despite this I enjoyed it
once the atmosphere settled. Using movement and songs, mostly a capella
and sung by the performers themselves, there is a stark simplicity to
the choreography and presentation that is sometimes too stark. There are
some choice dialogue scenes as well, with quotes such as the darkly comic
"some girls have it easy but some girls get knives thrown at them..."
and the knowing "knife throwers always know where the danger is!"
Overall, it took a while to wash over me but in retrospect it was an enjoyable
first part of the show.
The short second part 'Remember When' (featuring performer Marc Brew)
was an atmospheric film based piece with occasional live contributions
from the artist from the shadows. It was a short but impressive piece
and received a rapturous applause from the audience. The highlight of
the night, New Beats, followed and it was a dimly lit, smoke filled piece
that was beautifully performed by Daniela B Larsen and Petra Soor with
an urgency befitting the excellent choreography and subtlety of the music
and movement. The disorientating lighting was a treat to be witness to
and the somehow I felt a connection to the piece that made me enjoy it
all the more.
The final left over was a commission for DaDaFest 10 and featured two
of the performers from the previous vignettes, Marc Brew and Caroline
Bowditch, in various situations both serious and semi comedic. The fact
that both performers are wheelchair bound - although such a term seems
somewhat odd considering how free they are in their performance - makes
the physical movement all the more precious and especially during a performance
utilizing the Nutcracker Suite, where head movement is the only form of
movement it was still as entertaining as anything I'd seen the whole evening.
Hopefully, there will be another chance to catch some 'Leftovers' soon,
as I only realised just how much I enjoyed the show as a whole a few hours
after it had ended. Slow burning, thought-provoking and above all performed
with an energy that carried the audience with it all the way!
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