A glorious day at GDIF’s Greenwich Fair
A
jam-packed festival of outdoor performances spanning theatre, circus and dance
filled the picturesque grounds of two of Greenwich’s major attractions – The
Old Royal Naval College and The Cutty Sark. Decorating the stunning backdrop,
which was no doubt made especially pretty by the wonderfully blue skies, were
an array of curious structures; sheds, tents, benches and specially designed
sets whilst bunting and paper flowers adorned the trees and railings. A
fantastic atmosphere, a slightly baffling but bursting schedule of repeated
performances with a helpful variety of organised routes to guide you around a
range of shows – which I only became aware of too late to join one – made for a
weekend that allowed new audiences to experience uplifting, thought-provoking
and jaw-dropping performances.
Despite
my late arrival and bewildered perusing of the festival guide, I embraced my
role as a member of the crowd scurrying from one performance site to the next
and so I managed to catch a whole host of exciting displays. I’ll share with
you some of my favourites, and, like many of the shows themselves, I will
attempt to keep their reviews short and sweet.
Airing their dirty laundry in public – literally
‘Laundry
XL’ by Directie & Co. – a surprisingly powerful piece in which washer women
invaded the audience’s space with their forceful bucket emptying and sheet
flapping that left the audience soaked, covered in dust but chuckling
nonetheless.
Balancing beauties
‘Bench’
by Mimbre – a simply stunning display of acrobalance skills and gymnastic
tricks, accompanied by a variety of costume changes for the 3 energetic
performers, producing a theatrical narrative revolving around a park bench and
the characters that might frequent it. We meet fitness freaks, bag ladies,
hoodies and a bride but for me the real theatre came from their daring execution
of highly precarious and jaw-dropping aerial work using only one another as
support.
Loving life
‘Frantic’
by Acrojou – the proverbial hamster wheel of the daily grind is set before us
as we witness its inhabitant’s hysterical plethora of activities. The sands of
time fall from his clothing as the wheel is stripped to reveal a wheel of life,
mesmerisingly rocking between the newly acquainted couple who climb over, glide
through and flip on the swaying structure. The joyous finale of full bodied
leaps and turns under a fountain of water spurting from the wheel brought a
smile to my face as the performers celebrated life and companionship.
Voluntary labour
‘Pelat’
by Joan Catala – a theatrical demonstration of intense physical skill as one
man manipulates and balances a log on his back. The crowd that built a ring
around him unexpectedly became part of the minimalist circus event as he set
the log off on a journey around the audience and taught the crowd chants. He
chose four strong men to train in the art of log carrying, scarf spinning and
rope tying. All of this he did, without uttering a single English word, before
he finally put his trust in them as they manouvered the log to a vertical
position and he scaled its length to stand on the tiny pillar, held steady by four
complete strangers. A heart-stopping moment in a thoroughly entertaining piece
of participatory theatre that examined male physicality and hard labour.
Bus Stop Shenanigans
‘Full
Stop’ by Light the Fuse – a witty romp through a day in the life of a London
bus shelter where ravers party on, commuters queue, lovers meet, a granny causes
a bomb scare and most amusingly yummy mummy’s declare war. A fantastic
soundtrack brought each scene to life as did the three animated performers.
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