THEATRE REVIEW: While We Were Watching...Something Changed - Contact Theatre, Manchester.

'While We Were Watching...Something Changed' is the latest collaborative project between Contact Theatre's Young Company and Gob Squad. It is called a 'podwalk'. No, I'd never heard of one either...!

Upon arrival at Contact Theatre, you either used your own mobile phone and headphones, or borrowed same from the reception desk, and at your allotted time were taken on a walk down part of Oxford Road, the buildings which comprise the old Eye Hospital, and the theatre building itself. In small groups, guided by one of the Young Company, one walks to several 'stations' where you are instructed to stand on a particular spot facing a particular direction and watch a previously uploaded video whilst in this location. The 'guide' acts not only as mortal helper should we need assistance [which I did.. frequently!], but also as a spirit or sprite - her make-up, demeanor, etc all giving us the impression that she is somehow ethereal. 

The pre-recorded videos had been shot in the locations where we were standing (or occasionally moving around). They were set performance pieces performed by the Young Company members - meaning we were watching a theatrical performance on a video in the location the video was filmed; and so whilst we were watching this in recorded time, the real world was happening and passing us by in real time. This however, seemed to be for me the only advantage of such an idea. At the end of the podwalk, I was left wondering 'why'. I had rather hoped or thought that the Young Company members would have been performing something live which interacted with or ameliorated that which was happening on the prerecorded videos, but that simply wasn't the case; or maybe we could have been able to have touched the walls of the hopsital, or the bark of the tree, to make our experience more multi-dimensional, multi-sensory, and meaningful, but we were never invited to do so. What then, were the company trying to achieve by presenting this experience to us?, and what were they expecting of their audience? Even our spiritual guide had to admit that there was no meaning to it, and we were simply meant to take whatever we could from it. Each experience would be different.  

Not being one for modern technology and not owning a set of headphones, myself and my companion borrowed the company's phones and headsets, which sadly dampened the experience somewhat as my headphones were not working and so was unable to hear the videos, whilst my companion's phone packed in and gave-up-the-ghost half way round the walk. I found it rather cumbersome to be walking around wearing headphones and constantly holding a phone. I am far from being a Millenial, and that is something that is not part of my daily life, and was therefore not at all easy and happy with the experience. And although the amount of walking required was not much, it could still have been shortened. I also mused what the company would have done in inclement weather... fortunately, the rain stayed away for the duration of my particular podwalk. 

Some of the videos were very short - in fact the best one of them all, about a tree at the rear of the theatre was too short! - whilst some others simply went on too long. There was no order to them, nor were they connected in any way, save that they all had 'messages' within them about care, love, understanding, etc.., they were all about emotions, feelings, and full of symbolism... but I did find the whole disjointed.

Once we arrived back inside the theatre for one video titled 'Clowns', I thought that was the end, but no, we were taken outside again for the final video. This was annoying and unneccessary... called, 'Applause', it was also self-congratulatory. It consisted of the entire company dancing up and down in a line outside the building taking a bow to clapping and dance music, with no 'message' or meaning to it - they were just taking their bows - fine it this were a live performance, however, one doesn't see the cast of a film take up the last five minutes of the film coming out of character and bowing to applause on screen, so why do so in a video format.

Clearly a lot of thought and effort had gone in to the creation of the podwalks, and the Young Company had created something quite unique. However, I would have preferred to have been seated in a theatre and watched those vignettes performed live.. perhaps with a backdrop of a photo of the locations...we would have had the same experience...?!

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 30.7.22