The next show I watched at University of Salford's TaPP festival was "Tales". Five stories from Arabian Nights. Created and devised by these students: Nicole Alderson, Razwana Ali, Emily-Rose Bates, Cameron Bentley-Jones, Dale Blackburn, Yasmin Boujibar, Lauren Bridge, Chloe Buckley, Charlotte Dale, Liam Dodd, Brooke Hill, and Jade Williams.
From October to present, they have been exploring new techniques and ways to devise theatre with Director, Chris Hallam. The result was an adaptation of "Tales From The Thousand And One Nights". Featuring stories which have been passed on for generations and centuries originating from India, Iran, and Arabia. The goal was not to recreate these stories with historical accuracy. These tales were modern day interpretations featuring the most random playlist of music tracks I've possibly ever heard. The performance was all the funnier for it.
The thrust stage set-up made it feel like we were sat around a camp fire about to be told stories of adventure; about the happy and darker aspects of life. It also meant the ensemble could get creative with their entrances and exits. The whole performance was dynamic with an abundance of youthful energy. The stories told included: "The Tale of Abu Hassan", "The Young Women and Her Lovers", "The Dream", and "The Street Entertainer". Each tale and section borrowed from a different style of theatre, whether it be the playful exploration of the audience and performer relationship or the use of light and shadow. The light and shadow sequence was choreographed smoothly and quickly with tiny satisfying details like the love heart prop motif.
All of the performers have clearly put effort into devising this performance and it's great to see them enjoying themsleves. The differences in performance style: being melodramatic, calm and present as themselves, exaggerated, high energy or low energy was well judged and considered by most of the ensemble. Some of the cast did appear to be over-the-top occasionally when it wasn't appropriate to be, though. The audience participation in one story, mostly led by Dale, was rushed, loud and over bearing at times. She also kept saying to one audience member: "Why do you look so nervous?" Which just made things more nerve-wracking. As mentioned earlier however, it was their collective energy, enthusiasm, and sense of humour which made this a good show.
Grace Moran's colourful LED lighting was powered by the liveliness of the cast and reinforced the narrator/action play structure. There was no set, but there was a Pandora's Box of props to bring the stories to life, so to speak. Although, the unfolded table standing in as this bar counter looked substandard. On the other hand, the slow motion throwing of confetti was a visual highlight.
I think the transitions between the ending of one tale and the start of another was repetitive, I didn't feel like we had learned enough about the two "bookworm" women searching through the various novels to bring to life. As a result, the performance felt like a series of fragmented stories rather than something which is a complete whole. It was still good and enjoyable don't get me wrong. It was a funny and modern reworking of timeless stories of the past.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 24/1/20
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