Kaite O'Reilly |
| National Theatre Wales- In Water I’m Weightless , Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff , August 5, 2012 |
There is something strange in this show being a Cultural Olympiad commission. The world’s Paralympians are about to celebrate their different abilities yet this remains at its heart an angry (if totally explicable and justified) rant.It is a beautifully constructed, well-lit, effectively performed montage of these actors own different disabilities, telling their own stories, using humour as well as pathos, lots of “shock and awe” and some clever twists and turns. The programme calls the talented cast “differently abled” which is fine but as a disabled workers campaigner and representative I would have preferred to see more concentration on such positivity rather than so much anger at the world. I would like to have seen more development of the positive roles and life experiences rather than so much sound and fury. Similarly, that sound and fury would be better aimed at the political classes that are widely acknowledged at reducing the opportunities for disabled people rather than repeating the true but well documented partonising attitudes displayed towards disabled people, including, in this case, actors. While there is no plot as such the story is how the individuals respond and react to their treatment in the able bodied dominated world, their pleasures and pains, their frustration and also their self-celebration. The aggressive and then camp choreography from Nigel Charnock, who passed away last week, brings life to what could otherwise be a hard hitting lecture to the already persuaded. Mat Fraser’s aggressive punk dance was fabulous. Karina Jones clearly revels in the dramatic possibilities along with the marvelous Sophie Stone who had some of the best lines of the night. Nick Phillips combined darkness and fun in his clever monologues and David Toole buzzed with energy throughout the performance. As a piece of entertainment the show holds together succeeds in bring both a smile to our faces and some new thoughts and perspectives to our awareness of the physically disabled person and actor. But where were the mental health issues; the hidden disabled? • At Southbank Centre, London on 31 August and 1 September. |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
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