Afrique en Cirque. Kalabanté Productions at Aviva Studios. Image credit: Peter Graham
KALABANTÉ PRODUCTIONS
The Hall, AVIVA STUDIOS
The latest extravaganza to mark the launch of Aviva Studios in the city is The Welcome a series of events curated by local people across Greater Manchester selected as part of The Assembly. Many of these events happening between the 11-19th November are free to the public and others are affordably priced. Afrique en Cirque celebrates everyday life in Western Africa as it zeroes in on coastal village life in Guinea. Devised by Montreal based circus Kalabanté Productions this is an unadulterated expression of joy and physical prowess that is at times as mind bending as it is literally body bending.
The staging of an African village looks invitingly beautiful and the lighting is gorgeous. Village huts are peopled by musicians while the front of the wide stage of The Hall lends itself perfectly to the endless series of tumbling routines that blend with tribal inspired dance, juggling, hoop and human pyramids that erupt on stage without anyone appearing to ever draw breath. This might be a show that casually started on African time but once it gets going it’s exuberance and high energy is unrelenting.
Afrique en Cirque. Image credit: Wendell Teodoro
Yamoussa Bangoura established this circus company in 2007 to celebrate African culture and circus. There are no high wires or safety equipment other than crash mats and the performers seem gleefully unbothered by the very real risks involved in much of their routines. One strides around with another performer casually standing on their head while the contortionist bends in ways that can have seemingly scant regard for their own body in 10 years time. The ensuing result is an extraordinary exhibition of human skill and endurance that also paints a vibrant image of village life. Routines are developed around market bartering, fishing expeditions and storytelling that all play out with colourful costume changes and live music from the live band. Afro jazz style music is performed with guitar and saxophone blending with traditional West African percussion and the beautiful kora.
There are some gorgeous moments such as the dreamy balletic hoop routine with the spinning cyr wheel. There is cheeky humour in a routine involving hard hats and a human pyramid that is an impudent nod to The Chippendales/ The Full Monty. The sheer athleticism and energy is invigorating and the performers are multi talented as they also take on some of the percussion and singing as well. The music and singing is utterly infectious and has numerous young children dancing in the aisles in this relaxed performance. The audience is involved and encouraged to engage in callbacks as we learn little bits of the Guinea dialect Susu…I now know that naani is four and suli is five thanks to a playful juggling routine.
This is a production that has played all over the world and in doing so is a reminder of what a rich and varied culture exists in Africa. It’s also a lovely reminder that communal joy and gasps of awe can be universal whether in Manchester, Manéah or Montreal.
Ali Matthews and Tom Hall in Mushroom Language: A Fungal Gothic at The Aldridge Studio, The Lowry Image credit: Georgiana Ghetiu
Written and Conceived by Ali Matthews
The Aldridge Studio, The Lowry
Dreamy, disquieting and dystopian are some of the words that come to mind watching this striking and playful production. Creator Ali Matthews and her fellow performer Tom Halls open the doors to their playroom and it is a dark and unsettling place. There are moments where they create an uncomfortable voyeurism seemingly a couple with a predilection for quirky game playing…other times it is like watching Hanzel and Gretal going feral in a bleak forest where a fox masquerading as Granny would be a veritable walk in the park!
This darkly funny eco horror blends hypnotic and poetic story telling with B-Movie zombies, plastic baby dolls gleefully spored out like jizz, decaying animals and soothsaying crows. Clever and wonderfully weird Matthews looks at cycles of fertility, birth, death and decay by literally immersing herself in the ground and becoming one with the kingdom of the mushroom. This production is literally oozing concepts and ideas and in many ways feels like a serious of improvised theatre games where Matthews and Hall are egging each other on to new creative extremes. The results are utterly bonkers at times but the two performers are so slyly charming and engaging it is impossible not to be won over by this freakish new world unfolding on stage.
Ali Matthews in Mushroom Language: A Fungal Gothic. Image credit: Georgiana Ghetiu
This third world of the Fungi is imagined by set designer Ruta Irbite using what seems like acres of crumpled dark brown tarpaulin and stark trees seemingly formed from a merging of bare branches and human and animal bone. There is magic in this set as the performers forage and root in the ground and props keep appearing like rabbits from a magicians hat. Baby dolls, crows, lengths of intestine like gauze, pigs heads all emerge from this primordial earth and even the performers seem swallowed up at times.
Strange and otherworldly yet accessible our world collides with this third kingdom as the intrepid pair explore the forming of lichen, the intoxicating stench of truffles and the slow decay delighting the oyster mushroom while referencing Zombies, Linda Blair and disposable nappies. Both central performances are perfectly pitched with Matthews at times bewitching and enchanting then childishly demanding. Halls is delightfully quirky and clearly relishing this darkly playful role. There is genuine charisma between them which makes the scenes where they are literally as ‘one’ work very effectively.
Mushrooms may indeed hold the key to our future survival as they are so highly adaptable. We are continually learning more about their secret world and this production is certainly a loving homage to the magic of Mushrooms and may possibly have been inspired by the ingestion of a few of the more magic ones!!
Kashif Ghole and Ibraheem Hussain in Brown Boys Swim at CONTACT Image credit Geraint Lewis
Written by Karim Khan
Directed by John Hoggarth
CONTACT THEATRE
Two Sixth Formers hang out together and chat about girls, pecs, beards, Uni plans and their favourite sweets. This coming of age story features two equally likable mates who have known each other from primary school. One has the unbridled enthusiasm of a labrador puppy and is obsessed with his appearance and fitting in with the cool kids. The other is more serious and cautious…heading towards a good Oxbridge degree and a successful career that will support a wife and family. On surface level these boys are chalk and cheese, on a more significant level they are both Muslim boys living in Oxford watching their peers punting on the river while neither can actually swim. Karim Khan has written a perceptive, poignant and funny play that address the experience of many young Muslim men as they try to carve out their own identity in multicultural Britain today.
Winner of a Fringe First and the 2022 BBC Popcorn Writing award, Brown Boys Swim has had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and more recently at Soho Theatre. This tour features lead performances from two recent graduates who are both excellent as Kash and Mohsen. Kashif Ghole and Ibraheem Hussain are very natural in their roles and complement each other beautifully whether teasing and sparring or holding up a mirror to each others personal struggles. There is a lot of charm and humour in their exchanges as they play off each other. The darker elements are subtly shaded in as a trip to buy swimming trunks results in a security guard assuming they are shop lifters or a much looked forward to invite to a pool party is based on the assumption that they will provide drugs rather than Hahal haribos. The most poignant touch is the knowledge that Kash never learned to swim because in primary school he was having special needs teaching instead of swimming lessons with the other kids simply because English was not his first language. None of these aspects of the story are preachy but each gently touches on the slow drip drip of everyday racism. The final dénouement is so sudden that it almost risks losing the potency it should have but it is still a painful reminder of wasted potential and a life curtailed by cultural ignorance and unhelpful stereotyping.
This a beautifully staged production with clever and inspired design by James Button, lighting by James Bailey and a soundscape by Roshan Gunga. They combine to bring a leisure centre poolside and its changing rooms vividly to life. This is incredibly effective and gives the whole production a real sense of energy and drama. There is a great deal to enjoy in this production but there is also a reminder that growing up and finding your path in life is hard for any of us in any culture but we owe it to all our children to do better and be kinder.
Conor Glean and Shalisha James-Davis in Romeo & Juliet at The Royal Exchange Theatre Credit: Johan Persson
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Nicholai la Barrie
Royal Exchange Theatre
This 400 year old tale of star-crossed lovers hits the rainy streets of modern day Manchester and as young love burns bright it reminds us all what a heady and dangerous drug it can be. This is no desolate, grimly passion-fuelled tale of doomed romance but rather a celebration of hope in the darkest moments where the human spirit always finds a way to flourish and defy even in death itself. By placing Shakespeare in Manchester and celebrating local people Nicholai la Barrie brings a fresh and urgent energy to his words. The dark and wickedly sly retorts of a Manc on form are perfect for Shakespeare.Even when some sobering lines sound like they are played for laughs it feels more resonant of the local people and their capacity to wield a rapier sharp retort as easily as a Stanley knife. This works especially well with David Judge‘s perfectly pitched Mercutio and Gemma Ryan‘s slovenly Nurse.
There are some great performances with changes to the original script that now see Lady Capulet (a suitably steely Kate Hampson) as a single mother and a gritty Northern matriarch overseeing her clan. The most sweeping change might have been to save Mercutio and allow for for more of David Judge on stage but that may have sent Shakespeare spinning in his grave! He gives a compelling performance and his fresh twist on Shakespeares’ poetic words land perfectly sounding like a Manc street poet as he raps out his lines. Geoff Aymer is excellent as the meddling Friar Lawrence. There are some striking casting touches with Ashley O’Brien as a intimidatingly tooled up Tybalt while the tics and twitches of neuro diverse actor Adam Fenton give additional menace and edge to his Benvolio.
The two central character feel fresh and energetic in their roles as Romeo and Juliet. Initially Conor Glean did not feel like a Romeo I could get on board with but as his scenes develop there is real depth to his Romeo. Impetuous and foolhardy he may be but the depth of feeling he has for Juliet is never in doubt…even in his initial flinch at the prospect of marriage there is also an openness and generosity of heart to ensure he gives his Juliet what she needs from him. The raw pain he exhibits as he cradles a dying Mercutio is absolute and throughout the second Act he continues to grow in the role. Shalisha James-Davis makes for an vibrant Juliet. She brings a fresh look at this girl and fleshes out her ageless appeal…not just a pretty innocent girl but a feisty and spirited young woman with a passion for life and love that more than meets that of her Romeo. When she insists on marriage this is less about convention and more about knowing her own worth and valuing herself.
Shalisha James-Davis as Juliet Credit: Johan Persson
The sparse staging is more scorched earth than Northern cobbles but the speakers littered around the stage certainly feel like old rave parties or Moss Side carnival. In the Royal Exchange it would be easy to imagine a balcony scene staged from the circle but instead designers GOOD TEETH have the balcony descend from the heavens. The party scene becomes a rave party with a feisty confident Juliet at its core on a raised platform that defiantly marks out Capulet territory. The music ramps up and five disco balls create a kick ass party where a supernumerary cast fill up the stage and audience members are joining the dancing throng. Later the funeral scene for Juliet sees a sea of black umbrellas providing shelter from the driving rain as the heavens weep to the sound of Elbow‘s Lippy Kids. Some might see possible dramatic overkill whereas I hope it was a homage to L.S. Lowry and to the Manchester music scene.
Director Nicholai la Barrie pulls out all the elements of this timeless tale that still feels fresh and relevant. Whether it is in Verona over 400 years ago or modern day Cheetham Hill there will always be impetuous young lovers and opinionated parents trying to steer their children a certain way. Sparring or killing whether with rapiers or flick knives will always result in devastated families and wasted young lives. The enduring resonance of Shakespeare is however his use of language. Whether in Received Pronunciation or in a Manchester accent it is his ability to capture and summarise the human experience in such a perfect and beautiful manner will always bring joy. This Romeo & Juliet certainly brings the joy.
Co-created by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Assante, Danny Boyle, Es Devlin, SabrinaMahfouz and Kenrick ‘H20′Sandy
Commissioned by FACTORY INTERNATIONAL
AVIVA STUDIOS
The first ever Manchester International Festival launched in 2007 and quickly established a reputation for promoting and creating ambitious new works. Artistic Director John McGrath took over from Alex Poots in 2015 when the idea for a permanent building was already being floated. Fast forward to now and from the ashes of the old Granada Studios and with an eye watering bill of approximately £242 million Factory International finally opens the doors of Aviva Studios. Devised by Danny Boyle, Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, Es Devlin, Sabrina Mahfouz and Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy; the show to launch the building is FREE YOUR MIND. It is a huge scale hip hop dance homage to iconic movie The Matrix via a tribute to Manchester’s proud industrial past and reputation for innovation.
The first half is in the Hall and opens with a vast blackboard filled with equations…its a lecture theatre and one of the great founders of computer intelligence, Alan Turing, is giving a lecture via an old black and white TV screen. A quick lesson on the birth of the computer age and Manchester’s role, takes us even further back to the 1700s and Arkwright and the birth of the industrial age. Staccato pulsing bodies flood the stage and Turing is gone leaving the legacy that will be The Matrix and hinting at the A.I. world we now inhabit. The first of many dramatic shifts occurs as the back of stage is punctured with light beams as the punch cards of the first Jacquard loom are replicated. Dancers appear sheathed like gossamer condoms that stretch up and connect to the ceiling. Beautifully lit they weave through each other like a maypole of lost souls. Each dance piece has drama and demands attention. Neo appears, as does the red wigged Trinity clad in glistening black PVC. Bowler hatted dancers in rubber ridged trousers appear like futuristic Bertie Bassets and a wraith-like dancer performs in front of a glistening golden orb punctuated with the holes of bullets or punch cards of computers or grafting workers. The trial of the first computer charged with killing a human is a brutal annihilation with murderlous beams of light. An aerial performer swings across the stage as black discs of destruction rain down.
Suddenly its time to follow the white rabbits through to an interval filled with Matrix inspired figures suspended in mid air while grooving rabbits dance and workers silently graft at machines. The tannoy announces time to divide the audience and blue wristbands go one way and red through a different route into the Warehouse.
Stark and minimalist the vast space is wrapped in white cotton, possibly a nod to Manchester’s historic role in the cotton industry. Running through the middle is a huge white runway suggesting a futuristic fashion runway or conveyor belt. Screens running its full length project images of the building of the Mancunion Way, Ian Curtis, Tony Wilson and the old Granada Studios to the pulsing sound of Blue Monday by New Order. As the screens raise the dancers start to emerge. Before the final battle scenes of The Matrix the runway looks like a bizarre fashion show of costumes by Gareth Pugh fashioned to showcase Apple and Amazon rather than Armani, Twitter and Facebook instead of Tom Ford. These images are startling and darkly funny as they reflect our current human obsessions with consumerism technology and social media. They are all the more potent as audience member immediately try to capture whats happening on stage on their phones.
Dancers karate kick their way down the runway and choreographer Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy makes for a molten and mighty Morpheus. The ultimate scenes with Neo (Corey Owens) and Trinity (Nicey Belgrave) play out in a flurry of bullets of light and coding. It’s truly a spectacular sight that is powerfully impacted by the incredible lighting and video design by Lucy Carter and Luke Halls.
A scene from Free Your Mind. Commissioned and produced by Factory International @ Aviva Studios. Credit: Tristram Kenton
This show is a theatrical extravaganza that is all about showing off and celebrating being here in this brand new space in this city that so many of us love. FREE YOUR MIND isn’t a seamless production telling a cohesive and fully comprehensible story. It’s clear that it’s been in development for almost as long as it’s taken to get the building from concept to construction. It involves a wide range of creatives imagining a work for a stage that wasn’t even built and with a vision of creating something that was about possibilities for what could develop in this new space…about creative possibilities that are yet to be imagined. I like the unabashed joy of opening the doors to the playroom, ushering in the kids and saying Explore! Imagine! Play! This is a huge production using both the 1600 seater theatre and the vast warehouse space that could accommodate a Boeing 747. This is all about spectacle and showing off what these spaces will creatively allow us to do in Manchester. There is an incredible sound system in a building that can seamlessly adapt to different sized audiences in productions that could scale 64metres long and 21 metres wide and accommodate 5000 people while also allowing for floors that can flood and drain. The second half evokes one of my favourite MIF openings when in 2017 Jeremy Deller premiered What Is the City but the People when 100 people walked a gigantic walkway in Piccadilly Gardens celebrating Mancunions from all walks of life. Artistic Director John McGrath and his team have a shared vision for this new building and for Manchester…Invent Tomorrow Together. Let’s hope that FREE YOUR MIND is truly a gateway to new possibilities and just a taste of what is yet to come.
Josh-Susan Enright and Nathaniel J Hall in TOXIC at HOME. Image credit: Dawn Kilner
Written by Nathaniel J Hall
Directed by Scott Le Crass
A Dibby Theatre production commissioned by HOME
HOME
TOXIC is a semi-autobiographical piece from writer, actor and HIV activist Nathaniel J Hall. Six years on from the premiere of First Time which I saw in 2017 at Sale Waterside, at Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 and at CONTACT in 2021, its time to see what that tricky “second album” looks like. This is an exploration of how two troubled souls forged a trauma bond but sadly as Hall says This is the story of how we met, fell in love, and f*cked it up. The piece looks at how intoxicating love can disintegrate into something damaged and ultimately toxic. Woven through this love story gone wrong is a powerful look at the personal impact of his HIV diagnosis as a teenager and his partners’ experience of growing up mixed race in a sometimes violent household while both were also grappling with coming to terms with their own sexuality.
That’s a lot to pack into a 90 minute show and deal with any of the subject matter with any depth or sensitivity. In the main TOXIC does a lovely job of vividly evoking two flawed characters that have charm and real substance. Hall exudes winsome vulnerability and Josh-Susan Enright gives a warm rich depth to their performance. Watching them meet and fall in love it’s easy to root for a happy ending even as the show opens with an unabashed ending spoiler. There is something joyfully endearing about this boxfresh couple building a domestic life together with a dog and a DFS sofa. However the broken windows of a cleverly claustrophobic set by designer Lu Herbert already hints at the tragedy yet to unfold. Hall breezily blends glib humour and sly asides into his writing which counterbalances some of the more uncomfortable subject matter without sacrificing the power of the narrative. He may gleefully suggest we just call us your friendly neighbourhood red flags but when he recalls situations where he was called unfuckable because of his HIV status it is hard not to feel the pain in that recollection.
Josh-Susan Enright and Nathaniel J Hall in TOXIC at HOME. Image credit: Dawn Kilner.
The on stage chemistry between Hall and Josh-Susan Enright is palpable and the latter feels like a perfect foil as the more experienced lover. One is ready to retire their party lifestyle whereas the other is still curious and hungry for the experience denied him before the game changing introduction of PrEP. Their blend of domesticity and drug fuelled partying leads to hook up apps and threesomes that descend into paranoia and jealousies that destroy their happiness. In the main the story is well paced and highly engaging. However there are points towards the end where the show seems to flounder a little. Hall seems breathy in some of his delivery and the fight scene doesn’t quite resonate as it could. Overall this is an assured production that looks great and is cleverly lit by Tracey Gibbs especially in the moments where the visual effects seem to bathe the cast and set with an insidious splatter effect that echoes germs multiplying in a petri dish. The dividing stage is a surprising and startlingly effective way of depicting how broken this couple now are. As Hall says Hurt people hurt people. There is a lovely and reassuring sense of maturity in this insight…something to be truly proud of whatever race, gender or sexuality you may be. There is never shame in recognising our own flaws or damage when we are open to learning and healing.
Bronté Barbara and Rebekah Hinds in Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder! Image credit: Ellie Kurttz
Book and Lyrics/ Co-directed by Jon Brittain
Music and Lyrics/Musical Director Matthew Floyd Jones
Co-Director/Choreographer Fabian Aloise
HOME
Two social misfits in Hull host a murder mystery podcast having forged an intense friendship in primary school with their shared love of guts and gore. So far so good, but real life stuff is getting in their way and mounting family pressure is urging them to get out of Kathys’ Mums’ garage and get a life…or at least a career. Luckily for them, their true crime writer heroine breezes into Hull and they meet her on her book signing. Unluckily for her, a mysterious murderer beheads her and the hapless duo decide to investigate her murder. Suddenly these wannabes have the opportunity to become somebodies…not just anybodies but the sort of podcast bodies who trend and go viral with the help of no less than Lorraine Kelly!!
Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder! was a sell out success at Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 and 2023. This tour taking in Bristol Old Vic and HOME featuring a strong cast, a great set by Cecilia Carey and high production values courtesy of Francesca Moody Productions looks set to take this Hull based crime romp straight into the West End of London. This is a rollicking good yarn with songs that have catchy melodies and terrific lyrics that showcase the Hull accent in all its Northern glory. It is a fun night out at the theatre that unashamedly pokes fun at the police force while raising pertinent questions about the role of social media in real life crime cases and our obsession with fame at any cost. At its heart it is a story of true friendship and how it can survive being tested to its limits.
The cast of Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder! Image credit: Ellie Kurttz
Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds as Kathy and Stella make a great onstage pairing. Bronté is perfectly cast as the nervy, bookish University dropout and Hinds is utterly believable as the steely eyed, insouciant Stella whose tough exterior marks her vulnerability. There is great onstage chemistry and their vocal range compliments each other beautifully. The rest of the cast play multiple roles with great enthusiasm. JodieJacobs shines as ghastly crime writer Felicia Taylor, her siblings and the detective tasked with uncovering her murder. T.J Lloyd is a delight as mortician Justin and Imelda Warren-Green slays her primary role as the bug-eyed superfan Erica.
There is genuinely much to love in this riotous goofy murder mystery…and this is written by someone who is not a natural lover of musicals. The frenetic pace of this production can sometimes feel like speeding along having mainlined a Mars Bar and washed it down with Red Bull but every line and phrasing is perfectly pitched and hits its mark. We may never know the true identity of The Hull Decapitator but we can be certain that the team behind Fleabag and BabyReindeer have another hit production that may soon be adding awards to their mantelpiece!
Katherina Radeva in 40/40 Image credit: Beth Chambers
Created, Conceived, Designed and Performed by Katherina Radeva
HOME
A middle aged woman kitchen dancing is something I can easily relate to. Heading to HOME on a Saturday night to watch someone else do it was not necessarily on my bucket list. Seated in a square around a dance floor that is taped up to resemble a unique take on Snakes and Ladders, the audience stare across at each other and wait. Katherina Radeva welcomes us as though we had actually entered her kitchen…warm and smiley…in her opening deluxe she might initially be underselling herself…until that moment when she reveals that this is what she wants to do and she just wants to f**k about and people are gonna have a real good time.
Dressed in a grey suit she opens with the frantic beat of Work! by Gnucci. It perfectly sums up the experience of many women juggling careers, relationships and family, trying to do it all but often just running on empty. Throughout the dance there is an powerful connection to the audience that is incredibly engaging. She later speaks of her childhood in Bulgaria and the body shaming of an enthusiastic child naturally good at rhythm gymnastics but told she was too fat too perform at competition level. Perhaps what makes this performance so joyful is the real sense that at reaching 40 Radeva is welcoming that chubby child unto the dance floor and centre stage.
Costume changes happen between each dance and feel like a blend of behind scenes wardrobe changes and raiding the dressing up box. They also serve to bring nudity onstage that is a statement of this is the female body at 40. This piece is all about Radeva claiming space and choosing how to define herself rather than having others pigeonhole her identity as a migrant, a wife, a set designer or a performance artist.
Katherina Radeva in 40/40. Image credit: Beth Chambers
Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics is a pure joy to observe as watching her footwork in the intro is mesmerising as she explores the beat and the space. Increasingly sweaty or breathing heavily never feel like the performance is a strain on her as a performer but perfectly encapsulate the sheer physical joy of being present in the moment and enjoying every second. Other pieces reflect her Bulgarian heritage such as Maki Maki by Goram Bregović.
As the 50 minute performance closes on Radeva barefoot and knickerless and wearing a loose flimsy gown she is dancing to Rings of Saturn by Nick Cave. The lyrics seem incredibly apt as this time the chorus presents the woman as the divine force beyond explanation, beyond description. She just cosmically is. A truly joyous celebration of body positivity and acceptance.
Joyce Branagh 1978-2023. Vignettes at CONTACT Image credit: Shay Rowan
Written by Alex Keelan, Zoe Iqbal,Maz Hedgehog, Debbie Oates, Lekhani Chirwa and Lyndsay Williams
Directed by Kate Colgrave-Pope, Gitika Buttoo, Ifeoma Uzo, Bryony Shanahan, Amy Gavin and Ellie Rose
CONTACT THEATRE
VIGNETTES has been showcasing the work of local female and non-binary writers since 2020 and has rapidly become an established part of the Manchester theatre network. Set up by HER Productions and local playwright Alex Keelan each one focuses on stories from the female perspective.
The latest offering honours 45 years of Manchester Rape Crisis , with each of the short plays inspired by stories from the organisation woven around a play by Alex Keelan which outlines the history of the organisation. 1973-2023 introduces each of the other pieces by the haunting ring of the helpline phone. Joyce Branagh is excellent in her portrayal of one of the women inspired by her own experience to establish an organisation to support women after rape or sexual assault. Her portrayal of neat as a pin Joyce reflects the quiet stoicism of a woman who can be wearily matter of fact that you could be the most ladylike lady and you could still get raped. She appears in each segment as the decades pass reflecting the grass roots start, the gradual growth, the failed bids for funding and the successful ones that see the organisation both flounder and expand at the mercy of never having core government funding. Unseen and powerfully moving is Mary who remains on stage throughout in her cardboard house. Keelan uses a less is more approach to beautiful effect by keeping her unseen but never forgotten as a tribute to all those unseen traumatised women that rape imprisons in their homes or minds while the perpetrators roam free in a Society that still makes convictions for sexual assaults so difficult.
The other 5 short plays are varied and rich in their subject matter. Zoe Iqbal uses Bhaijaan to look at issues around abuse and consent within an arranged marriage when family shame can be more damning than abuse. Burdens by Maz Hedgehog explores a mother/daughter relationship where history repeats itself when both find themselves in abusive relationships and a daughter initiates help for her mother but finds herself asking the helpline Can a woman rape another woman? This is a well written piece with strong performances with an excellent Krissi Bohn stepping into her role as the mother at very short notice.
A Day in the Life Of by Lekhani Chirwa and Broken by Lindsay Williams both focus on the stress and difficulties for staff working for Manchester Rape Crisis. The first piece explores coping mechanisms and the importance of mentoring and features a really vibrant performance by Alicia Forde. The second piece features a blistering performance by Lois Mackie as an I.S.V.A (Independent Sexual Violence Advocate). It outlines the unimaginable strain on victims who wait for court dates and the difficulties of getting a conviction. In raising awareness of the importance of victim support it also asks the question why the lack of convictions seems to make sexual assault virtually decriminalised.
The central play by Debbie Oates bridges all the other plays as Lifelines tells the story of Yvonne who was supported by the helpline and is now ready to take her first call as a volunteer. At the heart of this subject matter is the importance of women listening to each other and creatinga safe space. Director Bryony Shanahan and the always wonderful Julie Hesmondhalgh make every word count in this sensitive piece. There is humour and a huge heart at the core of this story of a middle aged woman raped as a young girl who through the support of the helpline has finally learned to breathe again and most days can walk beside it…around it…most days.
Julie Hesmondhalgh in Lifelines. Vignettes at CONTACT. Image credit: Shay Rowan
The production closes with a celebration for Yvonne as she finally retires. Joyce Branagh and the cast raise a glass on stage, then invite the audience to stand and for a moment think of all those unseen women in Manchester, the North West and of course within the audience itself. VIGNETTES producers Hannah Ellis Ryan and Alex Keelan can be justly proud of their achievements as tonight was a fitting tribute to an amazing and vital organisation.
Julian Spooner and Matthew Wells in Project Dictator. Photo credit: Cesare De Giglio
Directed and Written by Julian Spooner, Matthew Wells, and Hamish McDougall
HOME
Rhum + Clay delight in devising and delivering intelligent theatre that asks pertinent and challenging questions. Shows such as The War of the Worlds, TESTOSTERONE and award winning Mistero Buffo have all had critical acclaim. This production commissioned by New Diorama Theatre last year is dedicated to international artists living and working under authoritarianism. Project Dictator (Or: Why democracy is overrated and I don’t miss it at all) is whiplash smart with a meta script that opens as a farce masquerading as a stateofthenation play which increasingly pokes fun at flaccid over-hyped politicians before descending into darker more sinister asides about tinpot dictators. The chilling conclusion dramatically shifts pace into a stark and disquieting nightmare that illustrates the perils and restrictions on artists working in oppressive régimes. This really is a case of whether a committed performer chooses to risk dying onstage or potentially behind the scenes.
The opening scene invites the audience into a cosy setting where the stage is set with opulent red velvet stage curtains and a smiling pianist who belts out seemingly endless cabaret tunes. A closer look reveals a palpable tension…the pianists’ eyes flutter nervously and her smiles are more unnerving rictus grins than genuine cheer. The playwright and star of the show within the show has the smooth confidence of an Alan Partridge who describes his character as Emmanuel Macron meets Jesus Christ without a trace of irony. Matthew Wells oozes the easy confidence of a politician with a Messiah complex on a campaign trail full of soundbites, babies and photo ops. Then there is his counterpart Jeremy Spooner, initially relegated to multiple small supporting roles or as the logo on his boilersuit states simply EverythingElse. Spooner plays the absurdist buffoon, a comedic sidekick to Wells’ straight man.
This classic teaming allows for the entertaining initial farce before this political sketch is suddenly upended. Roles are reversed as Spooner challenges the narrative and what unfolds is a vicious political coup on stage. The comedy is cleverly ramped up as he crashes through the audience brandishing a baby monitor strapped to a megaphone and adorns himself with flashy epaulettes and a huge fake moustache. Suddenly the OTT charisma of this Ollie Reed/Freddie Mercury characterisation starts to dissipate as the sinister agenda becomes clearer. The smooth polish of an ineffectual politician with soundbites instead of solutions has been overthrown by a narcissistic dictator. As the audience is whipped into a frenzy so comes the uncomfortable acknowledgement that no dissent is allowed. The audience is now as unsafe as the performers as we start to turn on each other to save ourselves.
The political farce onstage is over and the nightmare really begins as the set reveals backstage. There the performers falter…suddenly vulnerable and wary as they clear away the props. Literally everything and everyone is stripped bare and all illusion is gone. They are now sinisterly hooded prisoners ordered to perform, deviating off script at their peril. Donning heavy clown make up and costumes the loop of performance begins only broken by hellish ruptures before the loop begins again. The performance starts to fragment until exhausted and traumatised each individual must choose their path. The powerful closing scene is full of pathos and pain as it alludes to the constraints and dangers for those artists producing work under authoritarian regimes.
Live Art Alive 