Week 53

REVIEW: Toast (part of Week 53) at The Lowry

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Toast at The Lowry Credit: The Other Richard
Toast at The Lowry Credit: The Other Richard
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The theme for The Lowry’s Week 53 Festival is ‘Coming of Age’ and Toast, the award-winning food memoir by Nigel Slater, fits the bill perfectly. This moving autobiography, exploring the formative years of one of the nation’s favourite foodies, has been adapted for the stage by Henry Filloux-Bennett. Told through the eyes of a young Nigel, the playfulness of the writing translates flawlessly to stage in this striking, incredibly moving and always relatable production.
This production is beautifully sentimental and laced with nostalgia – every detail within the writing is brought out through the clever design and staging. An assortment of kitchen chairs make up the seating for the audience – jam tarts are delicately placed on each chair giving the audience an inviting welcome. Libby Watson’s set is beautifully childlike and twee as if it has been peeled from a warm and fuzzy memory. Kitchen cupboards open, shut and slide to create fluid scene changes – there really is some delicious choreography here.
All of the cast are astounding: Sam Newton (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time) is instantly likeable as Nigel and plays the part with just the right amount of precociousness. Addressing the audience directly and frequently breaking the fourth wall, Newton is utterly charming and comical. The other members of the cast play a number of characters each – Lizzie Muncey shows great emotion as Nigel’s mum at the start of the play before swiftly taking on the playful role of Nigel’s school pal and his harsh but hilarious school teacher. Marie Lawrence really shines as Aunty Fanny, with her squelchy jelly secrets, and Nigel’s detestable step-mother Joan. Stephen Ventura puts in an excellent performance as Nigel’s dad and Andy Brady plays a range of roles demonstrating his versatility as a performer.
Director Jonnie Riordan has worked with Food Director James Thompson to incorporate smell and taste into the performance and this is a complete multi-sensory triumph. There are some sweet treats for the members of the audience – no spoilers here – but there is a wonderful Walnut Whip moment.

Toast will be sure to evoke foodie memories in all of us – whether that is sherry trifle, old-fashioned corner shop sweets or Angel Delight. Food has the ability to transport us to a memory or safe place. Toast is also much more than this – it’s about love, loss, family and growing up. A beautiful production that will warm your cockles like a freshly baked jam tart.

-Kristy Stott

Toast runs at The Lowry until 2 June 2018.

Brighton Rock – Week 53 at The Lowry

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Brighton Rock - Week 53 - The Lowry
Brighton Rock 2018
Reviewer: Daniel Shipman
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The Lowry’s Week 53 festival continues with this new adaptation of Brighton Rock. The festival theme of ‘coming of age’ seems to have been stretched pretty far in the search for content – I’m not sure Pinky’s violent adolescence speak to many people as a coming of age – but that doesn’t necessarily stand in the way of a good night of theatre.

Bryony Lavery’s snappy adaptation sheds light on the character of Ida, and Gloria Onitiri does this great justice. I’ve never been a huge fan of Brighton Rock as a novel or a film, but this foregrounding of a previously smaller character made the story much more accessible. The women of the piece are given an equal footing here where in the past they have been second class characters, and the story benefits hugely.

Sara Perks’ dynamic set design is used to great effect by the cast to tour us through the parades, pubs and piers of Brighton. This is topped off by Adam McCready’s evocative sound design, which fills the gaps left by the sparse, highly moveable set. Hannah Peel’s compositions alternately complement and overwhelm the scenes which they feature in – sometimes feeling perfectly at home and at other times lending the whole piece a slightly comic, over the top atmosphere.

The first act is excellent, but after a strong start, the second act loses some of the vital pacing and soon begins to drag. It doesn’t quite spoil the evening but it certainly had me checking my watch. The show is worth a visit for the new perspective it brings to the story, but be prepared for a slow second act.

-Daniel Shipman

Brighton Rock runs at The Lowry, as part of the Week 53 Festival, until  Saturday 26th May.

Review: Hikikomori – The Shelter – Week 53 at The Lowry

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Hikikomori Création 2015 - TNG - Centre Dramatique de Lyon Mise en scène : Joris Mathieu Dispositif scénographique : Nicolas Boudier et JOris Mathieu CRéation Lumière : Nicolas Boudier
Credit: Nicolas Boudier
Reviewer: Daniel Shipman
Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It’s an exciting time to be a theatre goer. Technology is rapidly changing what it is possible to achieve on a stage, and companies like Haut et Court are making full use of these new opportunities with shows like Hikikomori.

The plot revolves around Nils – a teenage boy who decides to lock himself in his room – and his parents, but the plot here takes a back seat to intelligently designed atmosphere. Upon entering the theatre, audience members are given a headset which plays the interior monologue of one of the three characters, but you don’t know which until the show begins.

This lack of narrative or certainty creates a productive disorientation – it allows you to empathise with Nils’s isolation or his parents’ confusion so much more deeply than even the best acting, as you are sincerely feeling those same emotions yourself.

You quickly become invested in your assigned character – knowing only their thoughts and motivations and being forced to guess those of the other characters. This emulates the frustrations of real adolescence. My headphones were linked to Nils, and his justifications made his outlandish behaviour seemed almost normal, whilst those listening to other narratives perhaps thought he was a cruel monster to his parents.

The acting is almost secondary to this genius device, but the delicate touch which all three performers apply compliments it perfectly. Marion Talotti as the mother is a particular joy to watch. Similarly, Nicholas Thevenet’s score – a gentle hum of electronic rhythms and broken melodies – provides the ideal aural complement to the sparse set (Nicolas Boudier, Joris Mathieu).

Hikikomori is a sonic, visual and theatrical feast – the absolute best of what you want to see when you take a chance on new theatre.

-Daniel Shipman

Hikikomori runs at The Lowry’s Week 53 Festival and you can check out full festival listings here.

 

REVIEW – Handle With Care (Week 53 – The Lowry, Salford)

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Handle With Care by Dante or Die Theatre Co Week 53 at The Lowry, Salford
Handle With Care by Dante or Die Theatre Co
Week 53 at The Lowry, Salford
UPSTAGED RATING: 

“A journey of one woman and her stuff through a lifetime of self-storage”

Handle With Care is a curiously intimate site-specific performance which plays out in the metal units and brightly lit corridors of a self-storage facility. Presented as part of the innovative Week 53 festival hosted by The Lowry in Salford, Handle With Care tells the story of Zoe through the most poignant stages of her life. Exploring the central themes to the festival, Place & Identity, we are encouraged to explore ideas surrounding life experiences, the memories we hold on to and the personal possessions that we use to keep them alive.

The show is visually impressive – it’s a promenade performance with the audience following the actors around the Ready Steady Store unit in Worsley, Greater Manchester. The small audience find themselves watching the story unfold within the locker-lined corridors and small confines of each storage unit. It’s innovative and intimate and the audience are encouraged to move around the actors during the performance – it’s a bit like a fly-on-the-wall experience. The audience witness the reality of the arguments that take place behind closed doors, the domestic bickering and private moments of reflection.

What is so remarkable is the fluidity with which Handle With Care is presented – in 90 minutes we whizz through the decades in Zoe’s life, from 1988 to the present day. The dynamic cast handle the transition between varying performance spaces and they work around the strategically placed audience well . 

Fuelled by the audiences curiosity, each key is turned in each storage unit and the door flung open, to reveal another poignant incident in Zoe’s life. The detailed design is studded with costume and artefacts from the 80’s and 90’s and the soundtrack featuring The Stone Roses and Alanis Morisette pushes us through each year and into the next. 

Handle With Care is a triumphant site-specific piece and it could not be performed in a more suited environment – encouraging us to reflect on our own experiences, memories and our notions of place and identity.

 -Kristy Stott

Handle With Care continues to tour through May and June 2016: Harlow Playhouse with Lok ‘n Store from the 13th-15th May, South St Arts Centre with Lok ‘n Store from the 19th-22nd May, Lighthouse Poole with Lok ‘n Store from the 26th-29th May and Shoreditch Townhall with Urban Locker from the 3rd-25th June. For more information on the site-specific performance please click here.

REVIEW – Chotto Desh (The Lowry, Salford)

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Chotto Desh © Richard Haughton

 

Thingstars: 

Chotto Desh is being performed as part of the Week 53 festival at The Lowry Theatre in Salford. The innovative festival seeks to bring together contemporary dance, visual arts, music and theatre in interactive installations, exhibitions and performances.

We were thrilled to find out that the Akram Khan Company were taking part in the festival with a new adaptation of their Olivier Award-winning DESH, suitable for children aged 7+ and their families. This is the first ever family show created by Akram Khan and I was very excited to introduce Thing 1, who loves to dance, to some of Akram Khan’s work.

Chotto Desh meaning ‘small homeland’ in Bengali, is the perfect blend of dance, clever animation and simple storytelling set to the beat of an original soundtrack. The narrative is beautifully painted and is pitched at the ideal pace and level for older children to enjoy and understand, detailing a young British man’s dreams, curiosities and memories on his journey to find home. Despite being born in London, Akram has roots in Bangladesh and the Philippines – we follow him on his journey from Britain to Bangladesh and back again; we understand his aspiration to be a dancer and we explore a magical world of memories and stories as they unfold to us.

The show is stunningly performed by Dennis Alamanos – the dynamic and detailed choreography fuses classical Indian Kathak with ballet and contemporary dance. With references to Michael Jackson, breakdancing and street dance – we can understand how popular culture influenced Akram’s childhood. Alamanos’ movement fuses perfectly with the voiceovers and dream-like moving images. Children’s mouths were agape at the enchanting animation – as Akram comes face to face with a crocodile and stares in awe at an elephant before sprinting away from an approaching tiger.

There is such fluidity with the whole performance which also aids little ones understanding and there is a perfect scattering of humour. It was pleasing to see so many children engaging with the performance and enjoying such a breathtaking piece of choreography. Chotto Desh is the perfect mix of storytelling and dance, loaded with innocence and affection, making it fitting for young minds.

Chotto Desh is a beautiful adventure for children aged 7+ and their grown-ups – thrilling, poignant and brilliant. It certainly encouraged us to think about our own home and family and the aspirations that drive us forward.


-Kristy Stott

Chotto Desh runs at the Lowry in Salford until 4 May 2016.