The final performances from the third year Theatre And Performance graduating class were this year streamed online rather than what would have 'traditionally' been in their live 'UnTaPped Festival'.
The eight stalwarts, whom I have had the privelege and pleasure of following on their three year journey through the school presented 14 pieces between them, which was an eclectic mix of Bouffon, performance videos, radio performances, and sound recordings.
It will come as no surprsie to the students themselves or indeed to anyone who knows me, that their particular style of contemporary performance is one with which I have great difficulty in getting to grips with; however I try always to be as open as possible, and take as much away from each production as I can. I rarely actually like or enjoy what they produce (wow, this lockdown is making me far more honest, what's going on?!), but that shouldn't and hopefully doesn't matter. I have always been as objective as I could be and hopefully constructive too.
However what has been apparent with these students right from the very start has been their commitment to and understanding of, as well as love of, the kind of performance art they create. This online show was no different, their energy and their enthusiasm at trying to communicate with an unseen audience in a new and challenging way was palpable, and their efforts paid off many times over. The remits of the course are to innovate, experiment, develop and devise individual styles and create new styles of performance which are continually pushing the boundaries of what the word 'theatre' is. Performance Art has changed immeasurably since I went to drama school, and the way we were taught and how there was most definitely a 'right' and a 'wrong', seems both archaic and ridiculous in today's theatre world.
Performance Videos I was soon to discover simply meant taking the play they would have shown on the stage but filming it. This gave them the ability to utilise many digital techniques that would not have been available to them on stage, and as such, the films were far more experimental in nature because of it. The performance videos in the showcase were "Nothing To See In Notts" from Chloe Grantham-Evans, where she uses performance poetry to excellent effect as she tells us that Nottingham, apart from being the poorest city in the UK and not a very good place to live, is still her home. "Am I Good Enough?" from Keisha Anderson was a heartfelt and personal piece about body image. "Dangeroulsy Charming" from Leanne Mole was another piece written in performance poetry style, and talked about a relationship that had gone wrong leaving her unable to change the situation and being 'stuck behind the glass'. For me this was one of the more evocative and stronger pieces on offer. "Plugged In" was by Sam Robson, and was a piece about our reliance on computers and technology, causing a virus... cue to conspiracy theories of corporate medicine companies in Wuhan. Gemma Child's performance video, "Maladaptive Scream" was a self-penned song in the style of a children's TV programme. A catchy tune, bright colourful animation and an unexpected and serious ending, and was the highlight of the whole showcase in my humble opinion. "Food Riot" from Elise Gilbert was a rap. The style and graffics very much the gangsta rap music video, but the lyrics spoke of BED, which I learnt was an acronym for 'Binge Eating Disorder' and knew nothing about it. Who said rap wasn't educational?!
There were three Bouffon clown solo pieces. All three excellently done and realised. For those that don't know the word is French and translates as 'bufoon', and is a specialist style of clowning taking all that is vulgar, crude, filthy or disgusting in a character and making a virtue from it. The style was first devised by Jacques LeCoq at his famous theatre school in Paris and is possibly best described as 'grotesque mockery'. The three were Keisha Anderson's "L.O.V.E", Sam Robson's "A Lonely Man Sam", and Elise Gilbert's "Want To See My Bush?"
The remaining three events were sound recordings or radio performances. The first, "I Wish I Could Wake Up" by Katie Wardle, dealt sensitively with mental health, wellbeing and image. The second, "@GenerationZ" addressed our reliance of fake beauty and false friendships via social media. Leanne Mole here again using the medium of poetry to make her message more effective. The third was "Listen If You Want, You Don't Have To" by Caitlin Mollie, which again in poetry, addressed the 'Am I Good Enough?' topic. Nicely done.
The final two pieces in the showcase were presented by two newly formed companies from and by the graduates. The first, using images of the universe, told us that we are all just creatures who are screaming into the void. We cry out for a meaning to our existence, or a belief to follow or reason to create, when the 'out there' is far bigger than anyone could ever imagine. A nice idea and interesting debut piece called "Observable Universe" from Geminos Theatre Company. The last item was "Sticks And Stones" from Breadface Theatre Company, and took the form of a muiscal poem. Again a Children's TV vibe to the piece: happy, colouful, playful. However what they talk about is anything but child-friendly as they speak candidly of genitalia and 'knob-noses', and tackle the issue of body-shaming in a wholly original way.
A veritable smorgasbord of talent with many ideas and visions, put together with a deal of craft and professionalism. With the live-performance industry sadly at a stand-still at the moment it is abundantly clear to me that presentations such as these will become more of a norm, and the skills that these students possess are going to be more valuable than ever in our digital age.
Congratulations Class Of '20!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 31/5/20
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