Skip to main content

Review of Broken by Motionhouse at The Castle Theatre, Wellingborough

When I first investigated Motionhouse's Broken via its vivid trailer, it felt as if it could offer some fascinating stage work familiar to that of Frantic Assembly, which I truly wanted to see more of. Therefore I found myself in the main theatre at Wellingborough for the very first time last week to see what was going to be quite a show.

The first thing to say is that Motionhouse is in reality a very different beast to the work of Frantic Assemby, happily plowing its own rich reserves of contemporary dance, where as Frantic builds a story around physical motion. What artistic director Kevin Finnan brings to the stage is a world travelling a path of early human evolution through to a potential collapse as we reach at the end a cataclysmic event. Well that is what it feels like, as much like a painting, the audience might get many feelings and emotions from the scenes depicted. In the early cave scenes we appear to have dancing amoebas as life begins. Then we progress through to cavemen and strange apparitions, including some impressive stilt work. Finally we have a domestic situation in a block of flats which carries us into a quite spectacular visual feast of a conclusion.

The performers Martina Bussi, Daniel Connor, Junior Cunningham, Alasdair Stewart, Naomi Tadevossian and Rebecca Williams are never short of stunning as they show tremendous strength and emotion through their dance. Seeing some of them after the show is quite a revelation as they are so surprisingly small in person. Dancers have quite an amazing way to appear to have such strength through apparently minimal visual effort, bringing a wonderful delicate touch. This is what makes the whole thing so tender. It is without doubt a remarkable ability.

Technically and aurally the show is an equally amazing prospect. Pumping and dynamic music from Sophy Smith and Tim Dickinson combines wonderfully with Logela Multimedia's work on the imagery. The dancers magically timing their arrival and departures in tune with the vast projections. I also loved the way the lighting during the cave scene managed to play wonderful giant shadows across the side of the theatre.

So an absolute delight of a show, which may have at times suffered from a couple of the sequences being slightly over long. However it builds with every scene adding more technical advances and finishes with a simply stunning piece. Very highly recommended.

««««½


Performance reviewed: Thursday 25th February, 2016 at the Castle Theatre, Wellingborough.

Broken by Motionhouse was performed at the Castle Theatre , Wellingborough on Thursday 25th February, 2016 only but it currently touring into April. Details can be found at http://www.motionhouse.co.uk/index.shtml

For details about The Castle see their website at http://thecastle.org.uk/

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Lord of the Dance at Milton Keynes Theatre

On what was so far the hottest day of the year, and the highest in many a record book, it feels a tad evil to watch as a group of extremely talented performers bring to the stage one of the most famous and most energetic dance shows to tour. However, arriving now at Milton Keynes Theatre, as part of what is now the still rather immodestly titled 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour, Lord of the Dance remains full of energy even on the hottest of evenings in Milton Keynes. I last and first saw Lord of the Dance as part of the 25 Years of Standing Ovations tour, four years ago (yes, the sums don’t quite work), and it was every bit as spectacular as you could imagine this world-famous dance show is. Born into the world from Michael Flatley and the Riverdance spectacular that preceded it, Lord of the Dance is a simple but effective battle between good and evil and the resolution of it through dance rather than fighting. The dancing here is, as expected, exceptional, led by the Lord of the...
Read more

Review of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Birmingham Rep

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street first appeared in this musical form in 1979. Adapted from an original play by Christopher Bond, the work was set to music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with a book by Hugh Wheeler. It quickly became a huge success, opening on both Broadway and the West End within a year. Following Tony and Olivier wins, the show has seen revival after revival over the years, as well as a musical film starring Johnny Depp. Now, Birmingham Rep presents its own pared-back version of the show, featuring some big stars of the theatre world. So, the question is, is Sweeney Todd as razor-sharp as it once was? What is clear to all at the outset is that director Joe Murphy, also artistic director at Birmingham Rep, has assembled a remarkable and bold cast for the show. Leading as Sweeney is Ramin Karimloo, whose bio speaks for itself and is the biggest draw for this show, especially for theatres outside London. His Sweeney is a perfectly brooding affair, broken...
Read more

Review of Flashdance - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

For the second week running, the Milton Keynes Theatre is overrun by a wave of eighties nostalgia as Selladoor's production of Flashdance The Musical follows hot on the heels of An Officer and a Gentlemen. However, is it nice to have more of that classic decade upon the stage? The answer mostly is yes, despite the fact that the story driving Flashdance is that light and flimsy at times, you just have to sit back and watch the dancing and the bright colours to get you through. Welding genius, Alex Owens, has her sights set for a bigger thing beyond this tired and struggling factory in Pittsburgh.  Hoping to take her dancing beyond Harry's bar, she plans to make big, via Shipley Dance Academy.  Then, also drifting into her life comes Nick Hurley, who initially unknown to her, happens to be the factory bosses son, the scene is set for romance. Flashdance has a generally excellent cast led with a tremendously good performance from Joanne Clifton as Alex Owens. Those famil...
Read more