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Viewing life through a hoop
The Spalding Suite
Fuel Theatre
The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome
*****
IN AN
outstanding performance of physical theatre, dance and the spoken word,
theatre company Fuel enlighten the
audience with mesmerising skill and
precision with their performance of
The Spalding Suite,
directed by the superbly talented Benji Reid.
The production shows life as a basketball player
and the culture of the courts. They show the audience a glimpse into the
enduring sport in a deliciously explosive way.
As part of the DanceXchange programme, Fuel speak
through theatrical dance and captivating physical movement. Their
gripping style of telling the story through art combines high skills of
movement with charming poetry performances to create a remarkably
visceral and emotionally heightened account of their passion.
The company is made up of five men, individually
strong, but collectively captivating. Dancers KM Drew Boateng, Marquelle
Ward, George Bray, Emmanuel Akwafo and Jason York add their own unique
skills to create a company of superb calibre.
They are all exceptionally gifted in their craft
in their own right, but what brings them together is a shared love for
theatre, art and indeed basketball. The piece combines choral sequences
with all five actors moving as one, leaving the audience in awe at the
skill they are witnessing.
The way they work as one unit pays testament to
the skill of each performer on stage, coming together to create a
collage of fantastic art.
The performance begins with the sound of the
basketball being dribbled in the wing, an exciting taste of what we
expect to come. When the
 company
enter, it is easy to think that the audience, although small in numbers,
were completely moved at the skills they saw in front of them right from
the start of the show.
In one sequence in particular, we see a movement
piece of basketball practice that is precise and slick from everyone.
They play with a basketball although it is invisible, the company’s
brilliant mastery of movement leads our imagination to believe there is
a real prop being used.
Hoop dreams and court living in The Spalding Suite from
Fuel. Picture:
Manuel Vason
Each performer’s dancing and physical movement is
superb, heightened by their wonderful characterisation and commitment to
each of their roles they played.
Akwafo, in particular, injected the piece with
moments of comedy and silliness as we saw his journey from becoming a
trainee to a basketball court hero.
There is a wonderfully moving performance in
Ward’s portrayal of a basketball player with a troubled life. In him, we
see into his past and instantly feel emotionally connected throughout
the entirety of the performance.
Other enticing moments included when the team
won, slow motion movements paired with committed expressions showed
their relationship both for the sport and each other and was fantastic
to watch.
The set was sparse, as it would be expected from
the company. An elaborate backdrop was certainly not needed within this
production because the physical movement painted the picture of their
story so well. The use of lighting to create shadows and strobes to
replicate ‘picture finish’ moments added to the gripping atmosphere of
their piece.
Not only were this company brilliant at dance,
but their delivery of poetry and the spoken word made their tale all the
more exciting. The company were wonderfully captivating as they
performed the words of poets Jacob Sam-La Rose, Nii Ayikwei Parkes,
Bohdan Piakecki, Nick Makoha and Roger Robinson. Each poet’s words were
a resonant addition to the already brilliant performance that we saw in
their dances.
Each story, character and dance sequence was
perfectly wrapped within the awesome beatboxing expertise of MC Zani. He
acted as the Sixth performer and gave a backdrop of rhythm to the piece.
The actors and MC Zani were so in-sync with each other, that sometimes
it was easy to think that a recording was playing. MC Zani gave an
awesome urban vibe to the whole performance and superbly carried the
story.
The Spalding Suite is a wonderful treat for the
eyes and the imagination. In their journey, they convey everything that
makes for a truly remarkable performance. With movement and wonderful
mastery of dance, the audience are inspired. Their delivery of a
beautiful story through poetry is moving and the work between players to
the backdrop of beatboxing is absolutely remarkable.
Elizabeth Halpin
15-05-15
The Spalding Suite heads to Ipswich, May 29-30
then Liverpool June 2-6
FUEL THEATRE
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