Saturday, 19 February 2022

AMATEUR DANCE REVIEW: The Waiting Room - The Grange Theatre, Hartford, Northwich.



'The Waiting Room' is a piece of amateur dance-theatre, performed by Dancing 4 Fun. Set in a hospital waiting room the performance opens with senior grade students as doctors and nurses depicting the hustle and bustle of the A and E department and the intensity of the jobs they do.  An environment “Where everything can change in a heartbeat” we see patients waiting, the backdrop to the dancers, as people's stories are told.

The first scenario, a little girl (Poppy Short) and her mother (Chloe Waterhouse), shows the unconditional love of a parent for their child as they lie ill, the anxiety and emotion as they wait and hope for their child to recover. A dance follows between life and death with the angel of death looming ever closer until eventually life overcomes death and then leads to the path of healing.

We then meet a man saying his last goodbyes to his dying wife as the angels come to take her. A solo performance is given by Miss Vicki- Ann Boardman as she passes from this world and the final embers of her life fade out. The grade 4 dancers then show her going to heaven and her being with the angels before the adult class perform a dance remembering her life.

The pace quickens as we visit the panic room and see patients who look like they need to be sectioned and the final dance of this half is the Spanish train, which depicts the fight for souls between the Devil and the Lord and the pair of them playing chess to win the souls of the dead.

During act two the dancers further explore the afterlife before returning to the little girl whose illness has returned and her fight to get better.

Whilst she is battling we see a dance about a group of friends who are involved in a car accident because of  texting and the devastation that causes, her friends trying to save her and again a dance between angels and demons. This time the angel of death is depicted much more prominently with large black wings as she comes to claim her soul.

The final dances depict the funerals of the car crash victim and the elderly lady, beautifully conveyed from all the cast.   

With a final twist we see mother and daughter visit the graves and the little girl falls ill and taken back to A and E, Chloe Waterhouse performs a solo to the song,'Lost Without You', which was very emotional.

This production did not just show how well the dancers performed it depicted the harsh reality of the fragility of life, it explored the emotions felt by those losing a loved one, as well as the traumas of A and E. On arrival we were given a packet of tissues with the programme and by the end I could see why you may have needed them.

As someone with little knowledge of dance I wondered how they would be able to convey the pace and intensity of  A and E  and tell the stories of the people there , however I was gripped as the stories unfolded and I forgot it wasn’t a play in its usual sense as I became engrossed in the expressive and powerful performances of the dancers. The dancers ranged from the young to adults, this itself inspiring for anyone with a love of dance. The performances were fluid and blended a mix of abilities from group to powerful solo and duet dances.

I really enjoyed the performance on many levels, the subject matter was emotional and gave thought for reflection as well as showcase the ability of the dancers, added to this the music that has been so aptly chosen left you feeling moved. Well worth a night out.

Reviewer - Catherine Gall
on - 18.2.22


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