Us/Them

Our first play of the year came a little later than usual but on Tuesday 7th Feb we travelled to the Dorfman at the National Theatre to see 60mins of 'Us/Them'.

My Theatre Mates

A family friendly show about a terror attack - doesn't quite add up when you think about it does it? But the more you do, the more you realise that Carly Wijs' direction might just be genius. All too often when we retell moments of our past, we embellish and adapt - particularly when we are children - my nearly-3-yr-old niece would of course deny this entirely.
But when children witness traumatic events, how much of it sinks in? How much do they let it? Kids are more resilient than we think, but they're also like sponges, they take in the world at a rate that dizzies us as adults. So what if, in a place they all feel safe, like at school, they endure something terrible?

National Theatre

Us/Them is directed in a way that addresses this. As we begin with chalk drawings of the school's layout, a competition of information between our two leads and some essential facts to present the provenance of our piece, we are slowly lulled into a comedic security, brimming with innocence.

However, as the piece unfolds we are pulled ever closer to the truth, the REAL terror attack on these young children on a day that held them captive for 52hrs, killing 184 children and 148 adults. But we never really get there, the truth. The truth remains suspended in the well constructed strings that span the stage amidst a maze of conclusions and childhood storytelling.

The Stage

Our leads are enthusiastic and convincing in their confidence, as well as in their coyness. As they traverse the stage energetically, we are drawn to them even if we never really know much about who they are. Chalk drawings and imaginative commentary provide the basis of the all-too-familiar 'Us and Them' argument, with seemingly no understanding of why 'they' are 'them'  and'we' are 'us' - or of why they are being held hostage in their own school.

As a family show, Us/Them definitely helps broach the subject of death in the family if you don't have a pet that's likely to kick-the-bucket anytime soon. But it's also a fun show that incorporates dance with energy that never really allows for sombreness or pain in a concentrated quantity. It's full of imagination, both in script and staging but it's story holds a truth that makes it as devastating as it is entertaining - that is if you take a moment to Google the Beslan Massacre.

Exeunt Magazine

Read more about the production and the real event here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/review-usthem-dorfman-national-theatre-london-the-story-of-beslan-makes-for-a-remarkable-harrowing-a7539296.html

href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_siege">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_siege

'The Nether' at The Duke of York's Theatre

'The Nether' - the adopted, scarily advanced grandchild of the internet. It can create sensations of touch, of smell, of sight and can even allow humans to 'cross over' into a universe we ourselves play God to. 

thenethertheplay.co.uk

I'm always a little bit dubious to believe reviews that use the words 'riveting' and 'spectacular', but true to its critics, 'The Nether' gave us everything we expected and more - more being the hour long debate me and my partner had following the show. 

theselfishyears.blogspot.com

The atmosphere within the Duke of York’s Theatre procured an essence of Charlie Brooker-esque imagination accommodated by 5 strong performances from our cast. Our actors were supported by some interesting aesthetic projections of a live video feed from a camera on the interrogation desk CS and some effective and well-executed technical transitions between the downstage 'real-world' & upstage 'The Nether'. 

'The Nether' is a play set in 2050, that explores the interrogation of the man behind the creation of a coded reality, 'The Hideaway' - a server hidden in the depths of the future of the internet (the nether), that gives paedophiles of the 'real-world' a place to act upon their urges in a false world, a secondary world. In this world, anyone can enter, so long as they adhere to the rules of 'the nether'. This means, that in 'The Hideaway', those who appear as children, are in fact adults posing as children. So is it immoral - or isn't it? Who are we to deny our escapists the chance to enter another world? Who are we to define what is imagination and what is reality?

I have invited a guest blogger, Kamal Shaddad to pick apart the concept of 'The Nether' and its morality here: http://watchinabitotheatrenstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-nerdy-nether.html whilst my blogpost focuses solely on the production. In doing so, I have to commend the ladies for their performances. Amanda Hale is wonderfully abrupt as our interrogator yet brilliant as our emotionally-broken daughter also. Although, even Hale is marginally overshadowed by the London debut of the young Zoe Brough as Iris.

royalcourttheatre.com

The two older members of the cast had their moments although I felt that Stanley Townsend was perhaps a little stale when compared with his co-stars. David Calder’s performance was as I expected; he gave us diffidence as well as once again attributing a remarkable naivety to his character.

I also enjoyed the performance of Ivanno Jeremiah as Professor Woodnut. He was full of energy, full of likeable physicality traits that lure us too, into the trap of ‘The Hideaway’. The relationship that blossoms between Woodnut and Iris is believable because our cast make it so. It almost feels, dare I say it, REAL.

Jennifer Haley’s script is wonderfully eloquent in both exploring the future, and in identifying and challenging our moral altruism, particularly towards children. She lures us in to the interrogation, into assuming that Morris (Hale) is in the right, and Sims (Stanley) is in the wrong. Yet as the plot unfolds, the blur between right and wrong appears more obvious. Our interrogator herself, may not be so innocent of the 'crimes' committed within 'the hideaway'. Or are they crimes? Is Iris still a child, even though she is merely coded to look as such? Will we one day have to adapt our laws to define in which reality, in which world they exist to rule? Haley boldly throws up every counter-argument in the book before it has even a chance to settle. 'The Nether' is abundantly masterful. The set-design is simple yet bold and beautiful at the same time and the sound, video and lighting provide the transitions we needed to define both worlds represented onstage.

Its 80minute running time leaves its audience wanting, which is just how a play should leave it. When the lights came on, I was still captivated and it took me a while to leave my seat. It’s been a while since I was challenged in a similar way to ‘the nether’ and it’s a welcome break to find a playwright that writes with angst, with honesty and with foresight. I can’t wait to see Haley’s next works, don’t make it too long a wait!

Remember to head over here to discover more behind the concept and moral questions 'The Nether' provokes: http://watchinabitotheatrenstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-nerdy-nether.html

Last Train to Tomorrow

Holocaust Educational Trust Regional Ambassadors

On Remembrance Sunday, 9th November, I rounded off a busy week with a trip with fellow HET Regional Ambassador Emma Raynor, to the Roundhouse, to see the premiere of the musical performance 'Last Train to Tomorrow' composed and conducted by the internationally acclaimed Carl Davis.

The evening fell on the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht as the programme followed a dramatic and moving portrayal of the journey of the Kinder as they fled Nazi oppression over 70yrs ago. The evening held much resonance in the wake of the upcoming 70th anniversary of the liberation of many concentration camps, where many, if not all, relatives of the kinder were murdered. Prince Charles himself attended, after a busy remembrance Sunday schedule and met personally with those members of the kinder present at the premiere. Hosting the event, was Natasha Kaplinsky, also a member of the recently formed Prime Minister's Holocaust Commission. Perhaps most notably, members of the Kinder themselves were present and as the evening unfolded, with children singing and reenacting the difficult journey that came with Kindertransport, the audience were treated to an authentic performance with immensely powerful connotations as we sat side by side in the auditorium.

Children of the Choir

The voices of the children were remarkable. I don't want to be the one who says that they were sensational for their age, but they were. You just don't expect a flawless soprano to come from a 12yr old girl. There were of course a few whose vocals were perhaps not flawless, but it actually added to the authenticity of the journey, not knowing where they were going, who to speak to or quite how loud to speak out. It was incredibly moving to know that we shared this premiere with those who had lived through the ordeal, particularly as I have always had a great interest in the story of the Kinder, having grown-up in the hometown of a man known by all at the roundhouse that evening, Sir Nicholas Winton.

Last Train to Tomorrow

After the show I ran into Hermann Hirschberger a member of the Kinder, whom I've seen at many events but I've never had the pleasure of speaking to him. He spoke very highly of the performance and said he'd see me at the next event. I'll hold him to that! The premiere meant a great deal to the kinder and all wanted a souvenir programme but they very very quickly ran out. I gave mine to the grandson of one of the Kinder as I figured it meant a lot more to him than it would to me. But for all those still left without one, you can now send a cheque of £5 to AJR to receive one as they're printing more: http://www.ajr.org.uk/latest-news/article.1421

A really wonderful evening that carried me away with emotion and left me astounded by the talents and the courage of so many children, both past and present. A proud moment for British history and one that will help continue to carve the legacy of the wonderful people who made Kindertransport possible. A moment I'm very much glad to have been a part of in some way.

The Trench

A Monday night at the theatre after a busy weekend of filming was apparently just what the doctor ordered. Greenwich Theatre was host to hit Edinburgh Fringe Show 'The Trench' by Les Enfants Terribles. The audience walked into a smoky auditorium with the outline of a blackened trench showing the stage. It took a while for me to notice the members of the cast sitting in the darkness also.

http://lesenfantsterribles.co.uk/shows/the-trench/

My lack of awareness was probably because of the sense of dread I had at the amount of teenagers there on a school trip. I wouldn't normally have minded this but fifteen minutes into the production, having listened to a wealth of inappropriate comments by a single teenage boy, I, not far from teen-hood myself, had to turn around and tell him to be quiet for me to actually begin to start understanding and becoming part of the performance.

Back to the show.

As the play began I found it a little difficult to get used to the main character's third person narration. Once I'd settled into it though, it got easier to follow and the physical theatre was not only supportive of this narration, but simply brilliant. The incorporation of minimal props, of shadows, of projection, of movement, of puppetry and of song was what made a fairly ordinary written piece, into a stunning one.

The still images I've included show you just how imaginative Les Enfants Terribles have been with their production although it doesn't not show you the carefully choreographed movement that accompanied each episode. The breathing in of the monster during the 'gas attack', the moving of the set across the stage during the projections to give the illusion of time and movement, the beautiful embodiment of the beast and of our soldier's wife. 

The set was more than just a prop, it was a part of the production, cleverly designed to seamlessly interact with the cast. The props are passed through it, the lights are shone through it, the cast are seen within it and above it, it folds down to show the bedroom of our soldiers pregnant wife, it moves and collapses to become part of our soldier's journey and to show the disorientation of being buried alive - but to name a few.

The props and puppets were beautifully made and we as an audience appreciate them all the more as they are so tenderly manoeuvred. A particular favourite moment was when the wife reaches out her hand for the rain and snow and smooths over the snow beneath her.

There was symbolism everywhere too. The story follows our entrenched soldier as he faces three challenges from the beasts of his prison, challenges to prove his good and strong heart. The first, is to walk the path of the dead and not falter. Overcome his fear and walk on towards the exit - The fear that comes with war. The second, to tell another beast what you could possibly give those in charge of war to stop them, as smoke rises and blisters his skin, he answers nothing - a gas attack and battling hallucination and pain to stay true to the cause of war. The third, to put his inner child aside and others first as he rescues his comrade buried alongside him - the loss of childhood innocence and camaraderie that came with war, lost brothers in arms. All symbols within the symbol of walking the path towards death. Pain, loss of hope then one last push before denial and death.

The walk towards the light could have been him facing death, it could have been the end of the war, it could have been his escaping the tunnel. The truth may be death but the production leaves it so we make up our minds, create our own story, our own endings... as they who fought could not.

Overall a wonderful piece with a voice that transcended our subconscious into seeking every metaphor, asking every question. A tremendous voice that I am eternally grateful exists outside of the theatre circuit. He stills your soul with his falsetto and makes our journey with 'The Trench' complete. You can buy his music here: http://alexanderwolfe.bandcamp.com/

Enough of the poetry, a truly stunning show that was not to be ruined by the ignorant teenage boy at the start, who failed to appreciate the emotive performance we all became a part of.

http://lesenfantsterribles.co.uk/shows/the-trench/