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BE Festival – Friday
Birmingham Rep
*****
AS the BE Festival continues, the
excitement and appreciation for art is still strong and exciting.
On Friday there was a distinct change in
atmosphere due to knowing the outcome of the Britain’s EU Referendum.
A still and dreary silence was around and the
festival was opened with its co-directors reading a statement. The
programme of tonight fit the mood and political climate perfectly,
however it was completely coincidental that these political pieces were
performed on such a night.
Power to the People – BE Mix
The evening started with an interesting reaction
to politics and democracy in the western world. The company was made of
performers from various companies who performed at the BE Festival in
2015 in a collaboration of physical theatre and political art.
Their performance actually began at the start of
the week, where at the interval dinner, they ‘campaigned’ to the
audience about how they must use their vote once the performance day
came.
Our choice was to vote for a show that was either
directed by one director or to have a show that was collaborated between
five directors. The vote was cast at the start of the performance and we
were presented with a piece directed by all. The company also asked if
democracy was the best form of government. It as the companies aim to
make us see that democracy was not just a negative, but in fact the
worse form of leading a country.
The interesting way of making us choose was
indeed an interesting concept. The piece started with a celebration of a
government winning an election, with a parade of happy smiles, confetti
and wine being poured over the stage.
The remainder of the short performance saw how
people could easily be convinced and persuaded by a political group.
This company challenge us to see how governments are particularly good
at manipulating our choices within their favour. Their dark point is
that we are not individuals, but simply that our choices can be made to
suit the needs of those above.
In Girum Imus Nocte (et consumimur igni) by Aldes (Roberto Castello)
In a physical approach to an apocalyptic world,
choreographer Roberto Casello led a group of four dancers to create a
picture of the darkness of the end of the world. The auditorium was
engulfed in darkness before the performance started and the anticipation
for what was about to begin set the audience on edge.
Once the performance started, we were exposed to
small windows of light in which the dancers took on a zombie-like
characteristic, becoming overtaken by the constant music.
The performance gave an atmosphere of a
trance-like state of mind. The music had the same beat and never
changed. Stage lights would switch suddenly from a black out to lighting
up different scenes as the dancers made a picture of how to survive at
the end of the world. There was a constant grey hue and it was easy for
the mind to wonder during the drum of the unchanging story.
This was a unique performance where, although the
dancers showed great talent, the overall concept seemed unchanging and
distant. After ten minutes, the feeling of wanting something different
to happen was strong, but everything unfortunately remained the same
until the sudden stop when the performance ended.
Merci, Pardon – Cie HappyFace
This duo from France are performance artists like
no other. Incorporating circus and dance to make a collaboration of
spectacular movement, Cie HappyFace know how to entertain and delight an
audience. Merci, Pardon looks at the way in which relationships are made
as they show the formation of becoming close to another person.
Cie HappyFace are delightfully humorous within
their work. The performance started as one man, totally oblivious to the
world around him was found dancing alone inside a spotlight. This was a
superb show of talent as his robotic movements and fascinating skill was
seen in the slickest of ways. As the second man came along to ask for a
cigarette, it was clear that there was hostility. Through the
unification of dance, a new bond was instantly made and a new
relationship was seen.
The relationship between two people was
interpreted through their incredible circus skills. While juggling in
tandem, Cie HappyFace was a treat to the eyes of the entire audience.
There were incredible sequences that saw batons being passed from one to
the other in a beautiful show that did not put a foot wrong.
The audience were incredibly impressed with the
high-energy that was excreted by the performers. The audience could not
believe their eyes throughout the 20-minute performance. It was a
delight to watch, although it felt incredibly short lived, where it
would have been easy to watch all over again.
You had to be There – Uncanny Theatre
Uncanny theatre is a fun and lively company from
the UK, in which their show talks about the moments that would make
sense in the situation, but when retelling the story, it would not be
understood to anyone who was not there. In their collaborative approach
to creating theatre, they have made a wonderfully organic piece that
recalls the ‘had to be there’ moments of life.
Uncanny Theatre are wonderful advocates of
playfulness. There entire concept is based on fun and the audience play
just as an important part as the three actors. It feels as if they are
facilitators of a theatrical party, giving us balloons to burst at the
end of the performance and instructions to use flash photography with
our phones.
Uncanny use the concept of friendship and small
moments to bring out unbelievable comedy moments to bring the audience
together. Throughout the performance, they picked out audience, creating
scenes and reminding us of the times where we cannot recall unless we
were there. Through their fun and playful charm, Uncanny show us how
precious life and relationships are.
To say that this clever and collaborative piece
was brilliant would be an understatement. I suppose you ‘had to be
there’ to understand the genius behind Uncanny Theatre. To 25-06-16.
Elizbeth Halpin
24-06-16
BE festival
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