Approaching Tomorrow (OFS Studio, Oxford 13 December 2008)

 

Physical theatre is not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who are inclined towards contemporary dramatics, Approaching Tomorrow was a high quality, unflinching and grown up offering.

The performance was a work-in-progress, showcasing the dramatic tools available to physical theatre and exploring the ways it can be used to bring out narrative and emotion. However, being unfinished, the medium worked to lesser and greater degrees across the different pieces.

Luckily, this criticism in no way applied to the evening's main piece, Lullaby, which certainly had the strong narrative needed. Here, the medium worked very, very well. My uncultured friend and I were both terribly impressed despite definite initial cynicism.

The story, about a broken childhood and tortured life, was presented in a powerful and gritty way with scant dialogue, few props and lots of energy. Barbara Baer's twisted stances and strained expressions brought a harrowing tale to life, and made the affair shockingly personal. By the end of the crescendo I found myself on the edge of my seat, with my mouth hanging weakly open.

Already the performance was enough to leave me with that theatre glow, and the show was only a preview for what will be on offer in the future. Hopefully we will be able to sample the finished product in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in July, so if you want to see what contemporary physical theatre can do, I suggest you check them out. You never know, you may even lose some of that cynicism along the way.

Oxford Daily Information

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Reflections of a Man, Ritual, Masquerade. (Moser Theatre,  8th April 2010)

It is always an exciting event for me when a new theatre company arrives in Oxford. Having a voracious appetite for theatre, both as a participant and an observer, I was eager to see what PointZero had to offer when I arrived at Wadham College’s intimate Moser Theatre...

The first piece, a solo performed by Danny Scott entitled Reflections of a Man was totally absorbing and intensely moving. Through a blend of dance, music and the spoken word the performer explored some of the complexities of the male identity within the 21st century. It is often easy to forget how powerfully eloquent gesture and expression can be when communicating complex emotions and ideas. Not so here. Danny Scott’s astonishing performance opened a window into the male persona and allowed us a glimpse of the confusion therein. Whether philosophising about aspects from the physical make-up of a man to the emotional and intellectual attributes, or embodying recognisable male figures, i.e. young man in search of identity, old man reflecting on past opportunities, or just trying to find justification and reason for his own existence, he held the audience with him throughout.

The considered use of costume and music allowed fluid transitions from one moment to the next and the sequence set to Behind Blue Eyes seemed to speak to the problem at the centre of the male condition in present times– no-one know what is going on beneath the surface of the modern man. An extraordinary piece of theatre by an extraordinary performer.

The audience was then treated to a “teaser” piece entitled Ritual which explored some of the daily activities and routines which shape our lives. Museum exhibits escape the confines of their display units to engage in playful exchanges with the audience and with each other. Aprons, sunglasses, smiles and an irrepressible sense of fun made this a very engaging interlude.

Masquerade, the final instalment to the trio, could almost be seen as a partner piece to Reflections of a Man. Whereas the former looked at what is happening beneath the surface, the latter explored the masks that we all wear in our daily lives and how difficult in can be to throw off our adopted personas and truly be ourselves. Six female performers, joined part-way by Danny Scott, explored some of the social constructs that women find themselves in whilst recorded voices relayed the very physical restriction experienced by modelling for a papier mache mask. The feeling of confinement followed by that of intense relief clearly has connotations for the way in which we shroud ourselves in terms that we feel will be acceptable to the outside world whilst imprisoning and suffocating our individuality in the process. Again, music, movement and spoken word bridge the divide between theatrical media and style and provided a performance of many levels and intricacies.

PointZero – welcome to Oxford. I look forward to your next project with much anticipation.                                                    Daily Information (Oxford)