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Theo Clinkard - This Bright Field - Lowry 31/10/2017


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The tour of Theo Clinkard's This Bright Field ends tomorrow after 2 nights at The Lowry.  I was there tonight.

 

It was an evening of parts!  The first part had the audience being gathered in the bar before being led on the stage.  There were cushions to sit on or you could stand.  Within the circle of cushions there were black screens on wheels that the dancers moved around.  We could see, partially see or sense a series of vignettes performed by the dancers; what we could see changed as the dancers and the screens moved around.  It was quite exciting being in such close proximity to the dancers.

 

After the interval, we were in our seats in the auditorium for a performance.  The work was divided into 3 sections.  I nearly expired in fright at the start ... I was just talking to the lady behind me when there was the most god-awful crashing sound which heralded the start of the performance!  In the first section the 12 dancers walked down the sides of the auditorium onto the stage and then started rolling in slow motion.  It was almost as though they had tumbled over and the rolls were at the end of the fall.  The movements gradually became more upright and more vigorous.  There were some gorgeous lyrical moves that ended with a staccato phrase or a pose.  I did find that having seen some of the dancers in extreme closeup in the first part of the evening I was looking out for them during the performance and perhaps this was the idea of the first part.

 

The stage darkened and we became aware of a figure swathed in voluminous amounts of tinfoil moving across the back of the stage.  Gradually the tinfoil was discarded and the dancer emerged naked as though from a chrysalis.  She was joined on the stage by the other 11 dancers, also naked.  Again there were some lovely flowing movements.

 

For the final section the dancers were joined on stage by the composer/percussionist.  The dancers were dressed in what I would describe as deconstructed padded Samurai costumes in bright pink.  The movement was much more frenetic and free flowing in this final section.

 

After the performance there was a lively post-show Q&A involving Theo Clinkard and all the dancers as well as the composer/percussionist.  It was fascinating to realise that the first section where the audience was on the stage was totally improvised and that a lot of the performance section was also improvised within the constraints of timings and songs running through the dancers heads.

 

All in all it was a fascinating and enjoyable evening.

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