| Grace | - 11 - 22 October 2005
- Contact Theatre
- Devas St, off Oxford Rd
- Box office: 0161 274 0600
- Link: www.contact-theatre.org
- Performed by Quarantine
|
Against a backdrop of neon and stars, characters greet the band members (Manchester’s emerging rock gods The Permissive Society) as they arrive on stage to perform as part of the piece. The inspiration behind Grace is city life, and the band’s music sets the scene, especially when the odd chord is mischievously strummed mid-performance. The interesting props - including two televisions - have been hotchpotched together and the stories told on stage, using a mix of styles, make you feel you are watching someone switching TV channels every few minutes. The pitfall for me is that Grace over-relies on showcasing the talents of the cast, and I found it hard to connect with several characters. The audience’s civilised clapping on the first night, after a very noisy and energetic performance, was lacking a whistle or cheer, suggesting that Grace doesn’t instantly arouse emotions, but does impress. | "So, what is it about? I've never discussed a piece of theatre more than Grace and I’m still not certain" | | Emma Hardy, reviewer |
Stop looking for links and plotting in Grace, and the cabaret of choppy monologues and peculiar dance is engaging. Grace offers something more challenging than a 'nice story' as it is full of concepts to make sense of afterwards. So, what is it about? I've never discussed a piece of theatre more than Grace and I’m still not certain, I even spent hours arguing about it with my film-devotee boyfriend whose usual response to any play is, ‘It was alright I suppose!’ Working out Grace is more rewarding than an evening on the sofa watching mind-numbing TV. If you must stay in, at least try changing the channel every few minutes and recreate the Grace experience! | 
