Writings

Thick and Tight: A Night with Thick and Tight

June 5th, 2018 by

Naming your company something so un-searchable (believe me, I Googled) is a serious mark of intent, and beneath the grand Guignol make-up and extravagant costumes, Daniel Hay-Gordon (Thick) and Eleanor Perry (Tight) are creating something seriously good. The trio of performances opens with a modernist ballet, Queen Have and Miss Haven’t, pitching Queen Victoria against […]

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Sh!t Theatre: Dollywould

May 29th, 2018 by

I saw a snippet of this show in preview a while ago and marvelled then at how a simple snip of fabric from a vest could make such a fabulously appropriate costume. In economy it’s up there with Liz Aggiss pulling all of her costumes, and more, out of her pants. It makes a statement about […]

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Tom Adams and Lilian Henley: Elephant and Castle

May 29th, 2018 by

A man and a woman. A husband and a wife. A double bed. An audience. John and Yoko’s agenda for 1969’s Bed-In for Peace may differ wildly from Tom and Lilian’s in Elephant and Castle, but as a married couple, then on honeymoon, they perhaps asked similar questions of themselves when planning the work. Because […]

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Schweigman&: Blaas (Blow)

May 29th, 2018 by

Ever dreamed you were being smothered by a giant marshmallow? Me neither, but this is one of the many thoughts or sensory images that might occur when watching Blaas… Categorised as dance in the Brighton Festival programme, it is a dance of sorts – between an inflated white cube and an audience, initially seated. Director […]

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Dancenorth, Lucy Guerin Inc, Gideon Obarzanek & Senyawa: Attractor

May 29th, 2018 by

We are at a tribal campfire or perhaps a sweat-lodge. At the centre our Shamans, the Indonesian musicians Senyawa, are building an unearthly soundscape from Rully Shabara’s throat and Wukir Suryadi’s bamboo spear. At a certain moment, when the energy is ready, the eight dancers spark out of the circle like electricity – shaking, whirling, […]

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