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  Rhiannon
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Review: Requardt & Rosenberg - DeadClub - The Place

14/9/2017

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Originally reviewed Thursday 14 September 2017 for Londondance.com

As the door opens to the Robin Howard theatre the audience walk into the dark, clutching a raffle ticket with an air of intriguing expectation. All we know is that we will not be seated, it will be immersive and, with a title like Deadclub, most definitely creepy. The programme points out that our expectations, even those of the theatrical design, are based on information from the past, which allows us to plan for the future. Perhaps this is why when we see a very different theatrical set-up it is initially startling.As we enter the space we become guests into a monochrome macabre party welcoming our inevitable death and celebrating at once its beauty and violence. We take our place next to the shoulder height stage where our party hat is waiting.

Both the design and stagecraft involved in the production is simply breathtaking and grabs your attention from the beginning. The use of the stage is truly creative; there is nothing creepier than watching performers emerge limb-by-limb through the floor and melt in an inhuman fashion back into the ground. Through the clever use of lighting and trap doors, objects appear and disappear as if by magic on the stage. The performers are precise and cold in their deathly delivery.

If memory evolved to make us look forward then Deadclub is formed from our confusing and surreal memories of a possible dreadful future. The element of chance is a constant theme, which begins with the handing of a raffle ticket to the audience, which leads us to our place in the party then the moving spotlight, which threatens to land on you and seal an unknown fate. Is this our death? If it is, this feels like a waiting room for hell. A performer dressed in shredded underpants begins to create a eulogy for one unlucky audience member while another member appears to be stolen away.

The images become increasingly satanic when a blazing fire rises and sinks from the ground; animals both dead and dying appear and the performers walk apace with their arms crossed above their heads. As we reach the climax the piece builds in intensity as the performers pace around the floor only pausing to perform some unison choreography. Suddenly there is an urgent purpose to their movement, which is energising and engaging. The performers continue to walk round and round and round the stage, the repetition makes it feel relentless as if it will never end.
The piece is so choreographically controlled and visually engineered that the hands of the directors are always present and never forgotten. The audience are able to observe the party at a relatively safe distance to enjoy the visual spectacle but it does not engage on an emotional level neither does it shock or scare. The whole piece has such a deliberate use of ghoulish stage tricks and artistic surrealism such as the fluffy pink balls that seem alive rolling round next to a dead deer. It is a striking image but too arty to be terrifying.

Rhiannon Brace is a physical theatre practitioner and choreographer. Find her @rhiannonbrace and www.rhiannonbrace.com

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Baby at Fringe: Dancing about childbirth

3/9/2017

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THERE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A SCENE ABOUT LABOUR AND CHILDBIRTH IN BABY.  The show is created from a female perspective and therefore it was going to form a very necessary part of the story of birth.  My difficult experience of childbirth was also a significant reason in why I made this show.

The scene began as an improvisation task with one of Mary’s coloured cloth and has since progressed to two red cloths.  The scene has evolved every time it has been performed.  For Resolution (Jan 2016) it was simply our ‘red cloth scene’ then for Big Dance at Sadler’s Wells (July 2016), I worked with Molly to create an extension of the scene based on contractions and birthing positions with the sound of a heartbeat.  Last month we introduced a new scene, which introduces the early stages of labour by using simple choreography based on exercises to encourage labour on birthing balls. 



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The key to our ‘red cloth scene’ was both the decision to include the cloth and the choice of music.  I came across the piano track when I was researching what women like to listen to during pregnancy and labour.  I actually found this track on an album called “Relaxing Music for Pregnant Mothers and music for labour” and it was very natural to dance to.  It also helped to break up the rhythm of the flow of pop songs and lead to a change in mood as a significant point in the story is reached. 

During the creation of Baby I was watching a documentary about Pina Bausch and I saw an image of a woman with a red cloth.  I’m guessing it might have been from Rite of Spring but I don’t actually remember.  I thought the image of a woman with a red cloth would form a great symbol of birth.   During our performance in Faversham, we had a technician read our lighting cues off a sheet of paper without even a tech rehearsal (which was pretty impressive) and he did every lighting change manually.   The red colour was the strongest I have ever seen but it looks great in these pictures.

Rhiannon
Pictures by Fat Cat Pics


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    Rhiannon's Blog

    Work:  The Promised Land (2018), Mr President (2018), Voodoo Child (2017), The Last Dance on Earth (2016), Baby (2016), The Legacy (2014) and She Walks in Beauty (2011). Performance maker and teacher.
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