Post by dr on Jan 13, 2024 22:48:44 GMT
Saw the first matinee of this today. Thought it was visually stunning, with some remarkably creative set choices, brilliant uses of practical lighting and bold choreography to evocatively and ornately tell a story of immigration. The entire piece is told in various non-English languages, in-keeping with Gecko's multilingual/multicultural approach, so it is sometimes difficult to follow the specifics of the narrative. As a result, I left a little unsatisfied, wishing there were more markers to guide what felt like a nuanced and emotive story. There were just too many intertwined narrative threads, too many ideas, and without that extra clarity, it struggled to say anything, or add anything to the discourse. But on the whole, it's strong physical theatre, with very timely themes, and it was well received by a packed Lyttelton house this afternoon. It's a 3-star show, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for Gecko's future work.
