At Earthfall |
| Earthfall-AD , Chapter Arts Centre, cardiff , March 2, 2001 |
| As most people are aware, Earthfall are one of Wales' leading contemporary dance companies. Judging by their past history, they can rarely put a foot wrong, as is the case for their most recent production, 'AD'. A high energy, meaningful piece of complexly choreographed (by the individual cast members) dance is their medium for exploring individual relationships with their fathers. Following in a trend that seems to be omnipresent in the contemporary Welsh theatre scene, they are also exploring different mediums for the delivery of their content. A projection screen dominating the floor space, an outstanding musical contribution to the performance and the episodic nature of the three separate stories is what makes this piece distinctly postmodern. Directed by Jim Ennis, AD is the first part in an ongoing project by Earthfall that involves studying relationships within the family. To help them to achieve this task they use cinematic imagery of Welsh landscape, live music and pop iconography that contributed a multitude of dimensions to the piece. The personal accounts by cast members projected onto the screen immediately captured the attention of the audience. This captivation continued through the performance despite the absence of an interval and extremely uncomfortable seats (the sacrifices we make in the name of art!). The set and lighting were simplistic yet effective as the eyes of the audience were fixed on the performers' complicated routines and inventive ways of expressing memory, emotionality and fantasy. All of the technical equipment was visible to the audience. This made Chris Vines' musical contribution such an exceptional live performance (taking into consideration that he composed all of the music too). It also seemed to signify that the cast were exposing themselves. They demonstrated particular events relating to their childhood memories and shared things with the audience that were extremely personal; nothing was hidden from us in this performance, which is what I believe made this piece such a success. |
Reviewed by: Victoria Cooper |
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