To mark the 40th anniversary of the children’s TV favourite Waterside Arts is hosting an exhibition of the show’s original handmade sets including Pat’s cottage, the school, the lighthouse, and the Pencaster Square along with characters Pat, his black and white cat Jess and Mrs Goggins. There is also an opportunity to view some of the series’ early storyboard plans.

Postman Pat was first commissioned by the BBC in 1979 and the first episodes aired two years later in 1981. The stop motion series, set in the heart of the Lake District, was written by John Cuncliffe and voiced by Ken Barrie.

The early episodes were brought to life by director of animation, Ivor Wood (The Herbs, The Wombles) and produced initially by Woodland Animation ltd. In 2003, Entertainment Rights and Cosgrove Hall Films teamed up to develop Postman Pat: Special Delivery. This stop motion series, based on Ivor Wood’s original series, reused parts of his sets but also expanded on Pat’s world to include the town of Pencaster – preserving the timeless quality of the show while introducing subtle changes in design to make it feel more contemporary.

Cosgrove Hall Films later introduced lip-synch dialogue, seasons and an abundance of vehicles for Pat to drive back and forth from the sorting office, Greendale and Pencaster. After five years in production, Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service first aired on the BBC in 2008 and Classic Media, Dreamworks and Mackinnon & Saunders took over the production of it between 2013 and 2017.

The two final TV series were produced by Mackinnon & Saunders in their Altrincham studio. And when the Take 1 Studios in Stalybridge could no longer store the beautiful miniature sets and props the Cosgrove Hall Films Archive at Waterside stepped in to help preserve them.

“No longer required for filming, all the models were to be destroyed unless a new home could be found for them, says Joint CEO of Mackinnon and Saunders, Peter Saunders. “When Mackinnon & Saunders became aware of the perilous situation, I contacted the Cosgrove Hall Films Archive at Waterside to ask whether their animation archive could come to Greendale’s rescue. The teams at Waterside and Trafford Council immediately offered to help and, thanks to their hard work and dedication, many of the models featured in this uniquely British piece of popular culture have been saved for future generations to enjoy.”

Richard Evans, Creative Industries Trafford Co-ordinator, adds: “We jumped at the chance to be the new custodians as we already had some puppets from the show. Following a meeting with rights’ holders for Postman Pat, Dreamworks and NBC Universal, where we explained our approach at the archive towards celebrating Cosgrove Hall’s legacy, both companies were happy to donate the sets and props to our Archive. Knowing how much loved this television series was and still is, and how beautifully preserved many of these sets have been, we have created this exhibition especially to share these rarely seen sets, puppets and props with the shows’ fans – both big and small.”

Postman Pat: Welcome to Greendale is at Waterside from 20 November 2021 to 8 January 2022. Entry is free.

Read what our reviewer Nicola Dowling thought of the exhibition.

The post Original Postman Pat sets go on display for the first time appeared first on Quays Life.

How would you describe the show to someone who hasn’t seen it?
Su: “Harpy tells a funny and tragic story about one woman’s lifelong battle to find a treasured possession she once lost. It makes you think about the idea of mental health and how it’s dealt with. Birdie has mental health issues, but she also has a different way of looking at things that’s wiser than many of the characters she encounters. The play makes you wonder if some people are diagnosed as suffering from certain conditions just because they don’t quite fit in with society’s expectations of normal behaviour”.

What was it that initially drew you to the play?
Su: “Firstly, the big attraction was having a play written for me. That has never happened, so I was mega excited! Secondly, when I read the script I was immediately struck by how real, sincere, poignant and funny it was. A piece well worth doing”.

You previously created the role as your Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2018. What excites you most about returning to this character and has your relationship with her changed?
Su: “I was very gratified to play Birdie, so I am thrilled to be revisiting her. The author, Philip Meeks, has been able to add more scenes to the piece, enabling her to show more sides of her character and have more layers, bringing out more of her quirks”.

Some people take hoarding to the extreme. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve kept hold of?
Su: “It’s not really weird but I have had a long, multicoloured hand-knitted dress with a big collar for 40 years and I can turn it into a mini skirt. It is marvellous”.

Do you think modern discussions of mental health are inclusive of an older generation, or do we focus too much on the millennials?
Su: “Mental Health is now thankfully on the agenda and people are able to talk openly about it. But only a few decades ago it was still a taboo subject. People were told to pull their bootstraps up and get on with things. There must be thousands of older people who’ve lived their lives with illnesses like chronic depression but have never been able to say how they feel, and I think their voices and experiences are unheard. It’s also an issue that someone like Birdie, who had an extreme and more obvious mental illness, will have been through so many shifts in medication over the last few years. Mental health drugs are developing at a high rate. In the play she’s stopped taking her pills and I can’t say I blame her.”

What do you want audiences to take away from the production?
Su: “I’d like to think that they come away feeling hope and a bit more empathy about people who behave differently to themselves. Often, we latch on to those around us who are seen to not be ‘normal’ because they make us look completely sane, stable and socially acceptable, when if truth be told we all have our foibles and odd ways. Harpy is also a play about the lives that touch us where we live. Birdie collects lost stories and the histories of people long gone and forgotten. Hopefully it will make you look differently at the people you see every day where you live.”

A lot of people will know you as Peggy from the award-winning sitcom Hi-de-Hi! What is the biggest difference between performing on stage and screen?
Su: “For me, the biggest difference is that stage is immediate. It is live and the performance is happening that very minute and once only. Whereas TV is mostly recorded and often shown six months later, so is far less immediate. Also, stage work is one take!”

What are you most looking forward to while on tour?
Su: “I am looking forward to re-visiting theatres I have played before and playing new venues. It is always exciting to enter a new stage door. I am hoping, too, to catch up with mates because some don’t live in London, so it is great to have a drink and a catch up”.

Harpy is at Waterside, Sale on 9 April 2020.

The post Su Pollard as you’ve never seen her before appeared first on Quays Life.

As a child, my Disney-inspired view of wild animals made this story seem believable. The idea of having a cute penguin as a pet, even if just for a short while, would be a dream come true.

This childhood fantasy is at the heart of Mr Popper’s Penguins. Mr Popper (Will Kelly) is one of those ever-lasting dreamers who never grows up. He earns his living painting and decorating while day dreaming about life in the Antarctic. For Mr Popper, life is all books and imagination until one day an unusual parcel arrives making his dream a reality when out pops a fully-grown, live penguin he names, Captain Cook. Now the new visitor has arrived the cosy town of Stillwater is about to feel some ripples.

Sensible Mrs Popper (Monica Nash) has all kinds of objections at first, not least to do with keeping the house neat and tidy. But soon too she is won over by the cute little guy’s mischief and all normal rules are relaxed, particularly around table manners.

A second parcel brings Captain Cook a mate, and soon there are tiny chicks everywhere. The chaos that ensues has the youngsters in hysterics and the adults wondering if having a penguin family is much different from their own children as the little ones turn all their routines upside-down, bringing both joy and sleep deprivation.

The creation of this unlikely family is a heart-warming story that originated as a children’s book by Richard and Florence Atwater and later won Hollywood movie success with zany Jim Carry as Mr Popper.

The musical version sticks closely to the book for the story, driving the narrative with original tunes by Luke Bateman and Richy Hughes and giving a comical nod to big Broadway musicals like The Producers, particularly in some even more wildly imaginative final scenes.

At one-hour straight through the time whizzes by. And while this tightly-directed production leaves no room for interaction from the youngsters, the audience do get to join-in a penguin dance for a cool finale that can’t fail to warm the spirits.

Mr Popper’s Penguins is at Waterside, Sale from 27 November to 31 December 2019. Cookies and milk packs are available to pre-order along with your tickets for an extra £2.50 each for all shows.

Read our interview with director, Emma Earle.

The post Mr Popper’s Penguins: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

The show’s director and Co-Artistic Director of Pins and Needles Productions, Emma Earle tells us more…

It’s great to have you back at Waterside for your third Christmas show. What is it about this venue that works so well for you?
Emma: “We love the audiences at Waterside and enjoy being at the venue as much as we hope they enjoy the shows! The team at Waterside are also very helpful and friendly and all our casts have said how much they enjoyed their stay in Sale”.

Is the slumber show an idea from your company or is it from Waterside? How does it work
Emma: “It is something the venue has done for the past few Christmas shows and it is a lovely idea. Children – and adults too – are invited to come in their PJs and bring a favourite bedtime teddy to the 6pm Slumber Shows to make their theatre experience a real bedtime treat! Cookies and milk are also available to purchase”.

The 2011 film of Mr Popper’s Penguins, starring Jim Carrey, was only loosely based on Richard and Florence Atwater’s original book. For people who have read the book and/or seen the film, how does the stage show compare?
Emma: “Our adaptation is very much based on the original book, rather than the movie. Upon reading the book, we felt the story lent itself brilliantly to being reimagined on the stage. Our take on Mr Popper’s character for instance is really different to the 2011 film. In our adaptation he’s a shambolic but loveable house painter instead of a work obsessed business man with no time for his family”.

What were the challenges of bringing Mr Popper’s Penguins to the stage?
Emma: “Our biggest challenge was how to present a family of 10 penguins (8 children and two parents) on stage with only four performers!”

Can you tell us a bit about the puppets used in the show?
Emma: “We worked with Nick Barnes who designed and made the puppets to ensure that Mr and Mrs Popper feel over-run by penguins. It’s a logistical and choreographic feat!”

What is the music like in the show? Is it a musical?
“The show is a musical! Full of catchy songs and punchy lyrics, written by Luke Bateman and Richy Hughes. The cast all sing live on stage, it gives a wonderful feel to the performance”.

Is this the same production that was seen in New York?
Emma: “Yes. The show was performed at the Criterion Theatre in New York which is off Broadway. It is the same production direct from New York and the West End!”

What age range is the show aimed at?
Emma: “The show is aimed at 3-11 years but really we think that it is a show that the whole family can enjoy!”

Is there any audience interaction?
Emma: “There isn’t any audience interaction in this show”.

Have you changed anything to make it a Christmas show?
Emma: “We haven’t made any changes to the production to make it more Christmassy. It already works really well at this time of year because of our lovable, leading characters (penguins) and a snowy feeling. You can certainly expect hummable tunes, mischievous animal puppets and lots of Christmassy warmth”.

Mr Popper’s Penguins from Waterside Arts on Vimeo.

Mr Popper’s Penguins is at Waterside, Sale from 27 November to 31 December 2019. Cookies and milk packs are available to pre-order along with your tickets for an extra £2.50 each for all shows.

Read our review of Mr Popper’s Penguins.

The post Cute penguins bring a white Christmas to Waterside Sale appeared first on Quays Life.

I remember when personal cassette players (The Walkman) had no rewind button. Rewinding a favourite song meant employing a pencil and spinning the cassette. Our family was on the losing side of the battle between Betamax and VHS; and most significantly I remember wishing my parents would upgrade our balloon shaped dial-driven home phone with the slick angular stream-lined ‘button press’ ones we saw on US TV.

FaxFiction, developed by Manchester-based writer David Gaffney for the Refract:19 festival, is the first ‘live literature’ happening in the festival’s three-year history. It is performed upstairs in The Chambers at Waterside Arts in what feels like a school assembly hall. The initial four writers are seated as we find our seats. Next to them are side tables littered with analogue radios, projectors and an answer machine. The event starts with the audio of finely-clipped, English accents extolling the virtues of sound, while this plays out, reverb is added and a turn-table is used slow proceedings down. Samples of, classical then jazz music are phased-in – as we wonder where this is going.

Then the musical introduction ends and the stories begin. Some writers choose to stand whilst others remain seated to read their stories. The first section starts off slowly: Sarah-Clare Conlon, David Gaffney and Valerie O’Riordan regale us with snippets into their worlds of shipping forecasts; moving home and Head Office store recalibration. Sarah-Clare Conlon employs an analogue radio and regularly vents her disappointment at not being warned ‘about the gannets’. David Gaffney injects a light sprinkle of humour to his tale as he discusses the possibilities of parallel universes, while using the overhead projector to post pixilated prompts overhead.  Valerie O’Riordan relies on an answer machine, aged and barely functioning, to trace Barry’s life – all I remember about this story is the swearing, which garnered some laughter from the audience.

After the interval the pace of the remaining stories ramps up. Artefact by Nicholas Royle is recognisable as it’s the image used to promote FaxFiction. Nicholas provides us with a further six stories accompanied by, in his words, ‘vaguely related video’ (picture a TV and video combo 14” and silver) – Nicholas’ honesty is refreshing. With each vignette we watch painfully as he presses eject, covers the cassette and inserts a new one. Maybe this is the point. In the old days we didn’t ‘stream’ our films. Making copies and showing films was a manual, noisy and timely affair.

Stand-outs of the evening are Rosie Garland and Fat Roland. Both stand commandingly as they perform. Rosie wears a waist-coat and plays a man. We watch as ‘he’ (as he believes) falls in love at a party. He knows it’s love because the object of his affection has ‘made’ him – a mix tape. As we watch his love develop into euphoria, Rosie holds placards showing Belinda Carlisle lyrics as music plays in background. The cassette and the tape deck capturing the moments in our youth when love meant so much more.

Fat Roland’s performance feels like a mix between Johnny Vegas and Charlie Brooker’s Bandersnatch. His comedic delivery is so infectious it musters laughter with a simple look. His story centres on a ‘coder’ being offered the chance to become a computer game designer – an unpaid opportunity that ‘will be excellent exposure’. The ark of the story has several routes and the audience decide the direction – thereby keeping us on our toes.

These final two stories lift the evening but overall, as someone who has strong memories of these changes, I feel the evening misses a real chance to transport us back to an age where the analogue device was king and truly centre stage. 

FaxFiction was at Waterside Arts on 27 July 2019 as part of Refract:19. 

Read our interview with alternative singer-songwriter, Minute Taker aka Ben McGarvey.

The post FaxFiction at Refract:19 Review appeared first on Quays Life.

The promised celebration of ‘the formidable power of Woman’ is realised in sections of repetitive, almost tribal movement to a heavy beat, which grows increasingly frantic towards the end. The performers throw themselves into the dance with impressive energy, and the dramatic effect is heightened by up-lighting which casts large shadows on the wall of the venue.

The show description also promises belly laughs, and in spite of the dark potential of the subject matter it is definitely funny. An extract from the 1980s song ‘Insatiable Woman’ is played twice, prompting a cheesy, suggestive dance routine that is performed first with conviction, then with heavy irony and irritation.

Kill a Witch begins with the three performers donning long white wigs; paired with their long red satin dresses, these costumes are appropriately reminiscent of the handmaids in Margaret Atwood’s iconic feminist novel. The climax of the show sees the cast remove these wigs and the nets underneath, releasing their hair and so freeing themselves from enforced stereotypes.

An opening voiceover about Eve seems to promise that the show will follow a narrative of fallen women from history, but it doesn’t go down this route. However, apples do recur throughout –eaten, picked apart and rather bizarrely bobbed from a bowl – as a symbol of woman’s temptation of man.

Instead, short and unconnected scenes touch on the abuse and harassment that women can be subjected to, especially online. The existence of ‘incels’ – involuntary celibates who are usually male, heterosexual and misogynist and use online platforms to vent their frustration against women – is briefly explored in a mini pseudo-lecture. One of the most impactful moments in the piece is a deadpan recitation of jokes, which begins with silly, witch-themed puns about ‘vroomsticks’ and ‘newt-rition’ but devolves to increasingly shocking jokes about women that get fewer and fewer laughs.

Kill a Witch or Die Trying is a funny, surreal and at times thought-provoking show but it lacks focus; this may be because the topic is so vast and enmeshed within itself that it’s hard to tease out particular strands, but with a clearer narrative between the sections it could have a lot more impact.

Kill a Witch or Die Trying presented by Meraki Collective was at Waterside Arts, Sale as part of Refract19 on 24 July 2019.

Interview with choreographer Russell Maliphant about his dream-like show Silent Lines.

The post Kill a Witch or Die Trying: Review appeared first on Quays Life.

How did you find out you were HIV positive?

I got ill while on holiday with my parents. I was 16-years-old and we just thought it was something dodgy I’d eaten. When we got back to Manchester my Mum took me to the emergency doctor who said it was probably a waterborne infection – I lost over a stone in weight.

Then I got other symptoms in the downstairs department a few weeks later and so took myself to the GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinic. They told me I was HIV positive two weeks after my 17th birthday.

I had quite a bad sero-conversion – when the body recognises it has HIV and you get symptoms – but for many people the symptoms are similar to a bad cold and they don’t recognise that it is HIV.

What was your initial reaction to the diagnosis?

Total shock and a feeling I’d let people down. I wasn’t stupid, I knew about STI’s and I’d had a conversation about safe sex with my Mum too. But I hadn’t met any other openly gay men prior to meeting this guy – when I did, it was exciting and validating. I let him take the lead as he was older.

I felt ashamed that I’d made such a stupid mistake. Plus, in 2003 I was given a life expectancy of around 37 years – so it was fairly traumatic.

How has your view changed since then?

HIV healthcare was pretty good when I was diagnosed but it has completely changed over the past 15 years. Now I take just one tablet a day and that keeps me healthy.
It took me a long time to shake-off the self-shame and stigma I felt. It was deeply connected to the shame I already felt as a gay man – internalised homophobia is really common amongst gay men – and it was very powerful.

Now I can rationalise that it is just a virus, it doesn’t care who I am or how I caught it – it’s humans who judge like that.

You said you didn’t tell many people for 14 years. What was it like to live with that secret?

I didn’t tell my family which is the thing that haunts me the most. We’re really close but that is how powerful the stigma of this disease can be. I know lots of other HIV positive people who have similar stories of staying quiet with those closest to them.
Over the years I thought I had it all boxed-off and compartmentalised, but the pain worked its way into every aspect of my life. I’d get depressed or angry for little or no reason and I’d sometimes turn to alcohol or drugs to try and self-medicate.

What changed to make you start being more open about being HIV positive?
It all came to a head with a mini-breakdown last year and I knew something had to change. I wrote a letter to my closest family members pouring my heart out and explaining everything.

When did you first have the idea to turn your experience into a play?

I’ve always dreamed of doing something like this with my story and people who knew my story always said how remarkable it was and what a great play it would make. Oddly, I never realised how dramatic it was, as it was just my life!

I work with a range of amazing theatre companies including Contact in Manchester and 20 Stories High in Liverpool and they often use real stories as a starting point for their work, so I was inspired by them, as well as theatre heroes of mine such as trans-theatre maker, Kate O’Donnell and performance artists, Stacy Makishi and Bryony Kimmings.

What was it like to write about something so personal?

I’ve always used writing and poetry to help me make sense of the world and my own experiences so it felt quite natural. But the piece took me to some difficult places and made me revisit my teens with an adult perspective which was tough.

I’ve never written a solo-show before though, so it’s been a long learning process – thankfully I have a whole host of inspiring writers, dramaturgs and theatre-makers around me to help and guide me.

What can people expect who come to see it?

A funny, frank but unapologetic look at what it means to grow up gay and HIV positive in a straight and HIV negative world.

The piece is full of humour but also tinged with moments of pain and sadness – so bring the tissues. It’s not just a monologue either, there’s ‘bad’ drag, lip-syncing, an interactive quiz and loads more that I can’t reveal – expect to go on a journey with me and the rest of the audience.

What is the one thing you would like other people to know about living with HIV?

People living with HIV are demonised as being infectious or dangerous, but this isn’t true. Most new infections come from people who don’t know they have the virus, that’s why it’s so important to get tested regularly. It’s national testing week so get to it!

In fact, people who have been on effective HIV treatment for over 6 months and have an undetectable level of virus in their blood cannot pass on the virus – so people like me are functionally cured in a sense. That’s a radical new development in HIV that people don’t really know about.

Is there anything you’d like to say about the show?

Only that I hope it inspires people to live their lives more openly and honestly and without shame.

First Time, written and performed by Nathaniel, is at Waterside Arts Centre, Sale on 25 July 2019 as part of the Refract festival before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe on July 31.

Interview with Manchester-based and acclaimed alternative singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Minute Taker aka Ben McGarvey.

The post Nathaniel Hall caught HIV aged 16 ‘First Time’ tells his story appeared first on Quays Life.

The experience begins before we even get inside, as we admire the handiwork in the ‘social tent’ where Bucket List Bingo is on offer alongside a whole host of craft activities.

Resplendent in the sun, crochet flowers adorning the space, need no watering, and the equally weather-proof, knitted bunting is certainly not in any danger of being diminished by the odd shower of rain. These colourful creations are the handiwork of Smith’s Knits of Eccles, where the caravan was parked up the previous day.

Inside the caravan-cum-gallery-cum-cinema, are a series of artworks created by retirees, dispelling many of the myths surrounding the experience of growing old.

Admission is free, but tickets are given out to go inside the Golden Years Caravan, to watch a film.

Seated on the old caravan bench type pew, which of course was covered in the obligatory velvet , surrounded by more bunting in violet hues, I watch with awe, as stories unfold from a variety of contributors, all with one thing in common – their advancing years.

I learn about a 66-year-old woman, who supports a school in Gambia, and a gentleman who, when he turned up to register for his degree at Manchester University had a slight initial problem, as the University’s record system ‘only’ went back as far as 1930 and this silver surfer was born in 1929!

The film, produced by Thirty Pound Gentleman, Film Company and executive produced by Art with Heart and Manchester Cares and filmed, edited and directed by Rosie Eliza, is comical, poignant, uplifting and thought provoking.

In my view, the project deserves to continue and be experienced by a wider audience. I am told that with future funding this could be possible and I certainly hope that more people have the privilege of seeing the film, even if they are not as fortunate as me to behold it within the Golden Years Caravan!

Golden Years Caravan a free, drop-in art exhibition from Art with Heart was at Waterside Arts on 21 July 2019.

Manchester Jewish Museum CEO, Max Dunbar explains temporary move to Central Library.

The post Art with Heart’s The Golden Years Caravan Review appeared first on Quays Life.

The show is designed to give a depiction of the inner-worlds of gay men at different points in time over the past century in the style of dream sequences. The film sequences depict all the things that go through the mind as we lie awake at night. The first film shows the close-up faces of a variety of gay men who have their eyes closed, supposedly asleep or thinking. This sets the scene very well for the short films that follow, which are the dreams of gay men, young and old and which are thought provoking throughout.

The performance gives a real insight into the struggles of gay people at various points in time over the past century. One film shows an old man in hospital taking his last breath, with his wife at his side, but his last thoughts are with a young man that he fought with in the Second World War. He had the chance to have a relationship, but turned his back on him, presumably due to the stigma of being gay back then. He regrets his actions as this other young man is killed in war. For all those years he has thought about him, and on his death, the fallen comrade is waiting for him, so having departed this world, he is free to spend eternity with him. 

In another sequence we see the devastation that Aids caused in the 80s, with depictions of the Aids virus, the refusal of politicians to take action at the time, how the big pharmaceutical companies profited from the epidemic, and reminders of just how many gay men died.

Later on in the show, we see Pride marches and festivals around the world and the relative freedom that the LGBT community has today. This is in direct contrast to footage of gay men in the 40s and 50s seeking out like-minded men in cottaging situations, such as in the woods where other wolfs or wild animals (as the press at the time called queers) hang out.

There is one sequence in the show, where the film maker has spliced together show reels with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, where Minute Taker manages to time his synth music exactly to their dance movements – an absolutely wonderful film which lifts the audience after the more thought provoking films. The show is put together in a clever way, making us think hard at times, allowing us to be angry at times, but then brings us back up again.

Minute Taker plays piano and provides all other synthesised music, with his wonderful voice narrating our journey throughout with his clever vocals. His influences are apparent in his music, be that Kate Bush, David Bowie or Tori Amos. This live soundtrack is full of haunting melodies, electronic beats and otherworldly synths.

This show is not afraid to deal with any of the challenges that gay men have faced in their lifetimes. It manages to evoke every emotion, from angry, to sad, to happy, to relieved that we can all march at Pride festivals in the 21st century if we want to, and for it to be OK to be who we are.

Minute Taker: Wolf Hours is at Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, opening 10-day arts festival, Refract:19 on 18-19 July 2019.

Read our interview with Minute Taker aka Ben McGarvey.

The post Wolves, Dreams and Electrifying Music: Minute Taker’s Wolf Hours Review appeared first on Quays Life.

Moisala is a Finnish tightwire dancer and has worked as a circus artist. Performed as a solo using only the Tightwire and various different lengths and gauges of rope, Moisala explores the different spaces, planes of movement and states of suspension with delicacy and balletic grace. 

With its three-dimensional view, WireDo explores the inner balance of human behaviour with the question: “What happens to the body when it chooses to surrender and be manipulated?”

The first thing you see is the rig. Sitting on an otherwise empty stage, the steel frame, ropework and wire is a work of art in itself. Moisala has an elegant confidence as she explores the possibilities of all three elements. Early on, there is some stylish work with a long wooden stick and ropes, with some martial art movements.

Moisala next forgoes the freedom of the floor for the restrictions of the rig, and the ropes. There is some wonderful use of the three-strand rope fixed to the rig that provides a shifting support for rolls and balances. I don’t know how she manages to balance her entire body on a single rope, in a sort of minimalist hammock. Throughout the piece Moisala intricately creates new and evolving structures and patterns with both the ropes and her movement.

The musical backdrop to her act, by Terhi Pippuri, with its cymbals, bells and minimalist sounds adds to the Eastern promise of her act, and her dance movements mirror the music perfectly. There are effective moments during the performance where there is just silence except for the breathing of the performer which highlights the pushing of her body to extremes.

The latter half of the show is captivating in exploring how the body reacts to the extreme opposites of restriction and release. Moisala’s routine is perfectly executed and her body goes through an impressive and physically-demanding routine, from the refined shaping of her body during the movement sections to jumping and dancing on the tight rope. One stand-out trick is demonstrating the splits on the tight rope, the physical control is amazing. 

During her performance she acquired a nasty gash on her arm, which just shows the demands this routine puts on her body. As she smiles at the audience, you wonder how on earth she looks so comfortable. The ending of the show leaves us with a beautiful final image as Moisala spins gracefully in mid-air, her body curled as if in a cocoon, as she swings, suspended from the tightwire above. This leaves you with the impression that she has surrendered to the ropes, and having let herself become manipulated by them, finally becomes part of them. This really was a spellbinding performance.

WireDo was at Waterside Arts, Sale on 18 July 2019 as part of the 10 festival Re:Fract

Claire Gaydon explores the pros and cons of digitial sharing at Re:fract 19.

The post Walking the fine line with WireDo at the Re:Fract Festival, Review appeared first on Quays Life.