Created and Performed by Jennifer Jackson
Outside Eye Sarah Frankcom
HOME
Theatre 2 in HOME is pulsing with energy during this new production devised by Jennifer Jackson with the assistance of fellow performer Simon Carroll Jones (Head of Movement at The Arden). The stage is piled up with thick wrestling mats which are later moved to reveal a full drum kit on which Isobel Odelola punches out a mean beat. Jackson was the under 50kg British Judo Champion at age 15 and seems to have lost little of her energy and prowess. Mixing dance movements and judo moves, the narrative weaves strands of storytelling from Jackson’s childhood involving a racist event and a scenario involving a drunken incident at a taxi rank with segments of teaching self defence Judo moves to an actual girl gang. The result packs a punch as the production explores racism and oppression while asking why women continue to be so unsafe on the streets and in their homes that they still need self defense classes to protect themselves.
Jackson is a gifted storyteller who vividly evokes 1980s Coventry and transports the audience to the sales queue in C&A as she and her petite Bolivian mother wait their turn. Loops of this scenario repeat sometimes featuring a red-faced angry man and eventually an angry white woman with the young Jackson witnessing her Mother being subjected to a racist attack. At times the scenario involves the performer challenging this unprovoked oppressive behaviour with a samurai sword or verbally making the aggressor see the error of their ways and apologise or sees the child get away with some ribald swearing in defence of her mother. The more prosaic actual truth of standing in silence and shame in the store queue has clearly shaped Jackson as a person and was also the catalyst to having judo training as a young girl. The other incident is also told from a range of perspectives. At times it is a funny story of fighting off a drunken woman trying to jump the queue at a late night taxi rank. In one instance she is celebrated as a feisty woman who pours a pint over the other woman and taunts her that she is a judo champion but when the tale loops again it has a darker edge suggesting the other woman’s vulnerability and desperation to get in a cab just to get home safely.
There are some lovely pieces of movement involving Jackson and Carroll Jones that see judo moves blend with elements of traditional Bolivian dance and Old Holywood dance routines which at times shift into an insidious violence of choke holds. The petite Anglo-Bolivian theatre-maker spars with her rather Aryan looking partner and teaches judo moves with clear instructions to her girl gang and the audience. The energy and pace of the piece is propelled by the drum beat and hi energy moments such as when Jackson wrestles a sex doll and pummels every inch of air out of it so it resembles a ragdoll. It presents as entertainment with the girl gang braying encouragement but as with so many implied undercurrents in this production there is something deeply unsettling about the casually discarded limp body lying on the stage.
By the end of the production the stage is filled with women all capable of felling the hapless judo assistant Simon. This is clearly celebrating safety in numbers and pure girl power as Jackson is surrounded by their communal embrace. There is a lot to like in this production and WRESTLELADSWRESTLE also benefits from some punchy captioning by Sarah Readman and live action video design from idontloveyouanymore that add a cartoon element to the work with all the BEEPS and GONGS flashing up onscreen. There are however some staging issues such as although the drum kit is raised up and highly visible, the piece also features a lot of floor work which is not always easy to see unless sat in the very front rows. Overall Jackson delivers a message of self defense training as empowerment and a worthy alternative to standing silently in a queue if no one comes to your aid.
Live Art Alive 