The Yellow Earth Theatre
 | | The Yellow Earth Theatre |
Day three began in the Contact theatre for Yellow Earth Theatre and their production of The Nightingale. David K.S. Tse’s adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s tale is very much directed towards the family and offers an enthusiastic presentation of the narrative. The socio-political allegory is clearly explained for younger audience members as the tyrannical and grief stricken Emperor tries to possess his subjects and ultimately learns the true meaning of freedom and love. This abridged version offered some exciting moments, in particular the hallucinatory bedroom scene. Unfortunately, however, overall the production was weak and failed to engage with the audience. The basic themes were elucidated but the complexity of the narrative was absent and the metaphors lost in the somewhat careless production. Visually it was uninspiring and failed to capture the magical and enigmatic beauty of the tale. Finally, the incorporation of Chinese foot binding was an uneasy and sadly unsuccessful directorial superimposition onto this classic story. Lemn Sissay
 | | Lemn Sissay |
If Abram Wilson was the musical star then Lemn Sissay was his dramatic counterpart. His performance of his work Something Dark was a triumph. The piece can perhaps best be described as an extended dramatic monologue. However, Sissay’s show seems to operate on the boundaries between theatre, poetry and spoken word performance as he creates a unique style of expression. The autobiographical narrative is a humorous and moving journey through the artist’s past. Through his particular history, the universal is exposed. His creative expression of the intricacies of his life forces an audience to confront such grand issues as identity, race and adoption. Importantly, Sissay achieves this without sentimentality, sensationalism or martyrdom. His frankness, lyrical wit, passion and honesty get to the heart of the matter without any emotional manipulation. He approaches the subjects with a refreshing matter-of-fact tone and disarming humour. The metaphors that he weaves throughout this performance are fully realised and offer valuable comment on the poetic meaning of the writing. The bare stage and simple use of light and movement were expertly measured and gave the performance real visual integrity. Something Dark is a superb show, a must see. Kwesi Johnson
 | | Kwesi Johnson |
Next it was on to the Green Room to see a short dance piece called Single Reflex by Kwesi Johnson. The show purports to be a fusion of forms and dance styles to tell a story. However, there was very little dance, empty visuals, uninspiring music and an incoherent narrative. It was disappointing on every level. In the brief episodes when Kwesi Johnson’s dance skills were demonstrated it was very clear that he is an incredibly talented dancer. It was just a shame that this did not form the majority of the performance. Instead of watching twenty minutes of Johnson doing what he clearly does best, the audience was offered a fragmented story that struggled unsuccessfully between styles, lunging between an evocation of an Orwellian nightmare in one passage and then recreating 1920s cinema in the next. It left me longing to see Johnson demonstrate what he is clearly very capable of; great dance. | 
