Prelude to a Number by Geddes Loom at The Lowry, 13/02/2014 - Review

Last night, as an early Valentine's present, my lovely partner took me to The Lowry in Manchester to see an exciting, engaging new 'show' by Geddes Loom entitled 'Prelude for a Number'. I was impressed by his choice *applause* it contained Spoken Word - which I like, Maths! - that he likes, and Music - which we both like.

In an extended hour we were all transported through three narratives through the pattern of The Golden Ratio. I say all because it was clear in the eyes of the collective Geddes Loom that their words still transported them with the audience. It might have just been me, but I felt a vindication that these artists were allowed to blend and fuse the genre's of poetry, narrative, music, lighting, staging and acting without the limitations that come when you work in one specific genre.

 In fractured borders we were presented with snap shots in the life of each character -  Tessa, Leon and Matt. These narratives crossed over at points when The Golden Ratio returned to their story. Each narrative was equally engaging, feeding from the tension created in the last narrative. Between them was a river of music that made a bridge between the spoken sections. 

The music was repetitive, surging like a tide, building upon itself with live audio looping that made you feel very much a part of the creation of the production - I was reminded at points of Karl Jenkins' Cantilena. The vocals of Léonie Higgins and Ben Mellor highlighted the diversity of voice. Breaking up long sections of narrative with more voice may seem counterproductive, but the subtle's of change were accentuated, with the backing of Dan Steele. A word about Dan Steele, the multi-instrumentalist, the very presence of so many instruments (including Higgins Cello) pushed the point that we were in the presence of artist / creatives. 

                      The performance itself was on a very understated set, filled with mathematical blackboard scribbles, which gives the impression of you sitting within a work in progress, someone finding the point that Fibonacci's sequence, the Golden Ratio or  Golden Pyramids intersected to create moments of beauty. This accentuated one of the closing ideas - that anything is there if you look hard enough. For example, were we seeing those points in the narratives because we were looking for them? Do we see them in the objects around us because we were looking for them? and if they aren't actually there is an object still as beautiful? A very powerful and different line of investigation. 

There are moments of multi-media projection that work brilliantly. Both Higgins and Mellor interchange between the characters, from the mains like Tessa to fleeting characters like Matt's parents. The projection gives the audience a nudge into the particular narrative strand being played out at that time. 

There is a lot to be said for the grey area between genre's and this is where the piece shines.

The theme of The Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence was a perfect link between the genre's. Numbers are a major factor in music and the rhythm of the spoken word, the music mixed with the lighting and the lighting with the stage design. *sigh* I could go on for hours decoding and deconstructing the piece, but it really is in the accumulation of all of those elements that the show comes into it's own. 

To get more of a feel for the show watch this!

If you didn't catch it yesterday the show is on again at The Lowry tonight!   

You can find the Geddes Loom on facebook!

They are currently running a fundraiser for an album of the music on Indiegogo.

 

Top Five Female Playwrights

Following up from last nights review of Enron by Lucy Prebble, here is that exciting news I was telling you about! My article at For Books Sake. 

Enron by Lucy Prebble - Review

Enron by Lucy Prebble opened at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2009, transferred to the Royal Court Theatre to the Noël Coward Theatre in 2010 where it was a huge success. Enron also opened in America Enron premiered on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on 8 April 2010 in previews, with the official opening on 27 April.

  Enron lets the viewer into the bubble of Enron and explores the prism that is creates for itself. Naturally the only way to get the audience out is to burst that bubble. The writing is excellent. There are full sweeping speeches that examine the intricate details of finance and the company whilst making these details accessible to the audience. Anyone I know will tell you that money, maths or business are my major weaknesses, and yet I enjoyed reading this play a lot. The large speeches are offset by small, quick dialogue between Lay and Roe or Skilling and Farlow, the play continues interchanging these modes of dialogue, the effect is that the audience is kept alert, waiting and on edge to see how the play will settle itself. Spoiler: it won't, it continues until the en to interchange. This effect mimics the development of Enron in the play, how it shifts around to transform and emerge only to transform again until the end of the play.
                   I particularly enjoyed the chaos. I Youtube-d the play so that I could see how the play moved. The blend of dance and music, of projection and theatricality seemed the perfect way to represent what really happened when the biggest oil and gas company of America fell.
                The characters are formed very differently, at times you like them and at times they seem very transparent but it is the blend of the faults of each character that reflect the whole of the play. Unfortunately I was only about ... 10 when Enron fell so I am coming to this play from a completely different perspective with only the hindsight of the credit crunch to fall back on as my experience of what it's like to see a company fall. With Enron being the biggest and first company to fall it feel weird to think that wasn't the norm ten years ago.
              The play does a great job of presenting the size of the crash for Enron, I think this is a great credit to the play and another reason that the media's are mixed so much. I don't think that theatre alone could have represented it so well. The whole play has a grunge / fringe feel about it, mixed with the office setting and the suit's it shows just how innovative the ideas where and how much they were playing with the future. The fringe feel allows the Prebble to stretch her voice past theatre and into the larger question.


 You can watch the trailer for the play HERE
You can also read more about Lucy Prebble and 4 other contemporary playwrights in a piece I've written for For Books Sake

Three Birds by Janice Okoh - Review

The play follows three siblings, Tianna, Tionne and Tanika as they play house in the absence of their mother. The eldest Tianna has to deal with growing up and becoming the head of the household whilst Tionne is dealing with it all in his own way through mysterious and disturbing experiments, meanwhile Tanika, the youngest, is trying her best to understand and keep hold of childhood.
    This play comes from Janice Okoh and is the product of 2011's Bruntwood Prize for playwriting.It was performed at The Royal Exchange in Manchester this year and has then went on to London's Bush Theatre.
Unfortunately I didn't get to see the play performed, but I have read the script after a few recommendations.

The script itself is brilliant, and refreshing. I tend to be attracted to the dark imagery of the macabre and this script, set along side a familiar home setting is a perfect juxtaposition. The situation the children find them in 

escalates to unbelievable proportions, and Okoh has shown her talent by making it believable. Each character functions on their own in the play and as part of the cast and the detail of the play. This play works well with the cogs of theatre by enticing the audience /  reader into itself and enveloping them thoroughly into it's world.
    Of particular note is the reveal at the end, which makes you want to re-read the play to look for clue's to the ending. The imagery builds upon itself to prepare the audience for the ending in a way here you half expect it, but being confronted with the macabre and bizarre is still disjointing. The layering of the script is particularly interesting, especially the small tear in these layers, as seen with the introduction of Mr. Mistoffelees the hand puppet. The true childish nature of these characters can be missed as they present themselves, particularly Tianna, as grown-up's but in these slips the reality of their ages and their circumstance is very daunting.
     
A word on the Bruntwood: this is obviously the quality of work that is being submitted to the prize and The Royal Exchange the product of quality to give something extra to these scripts. It is definitely a prize that carries a reputation for the winner and brings in new imagination to the theatre itself.