Bright Raven!
Blue Elephant Theatre
Reviewed – 15th November 2018
“full of inspiration and integrity”
In support of Mission Life Force, an expanding movement of people concerned about preserving the Earth, Hoax Theatre offer a modest event to raise funds for and awareness of the important work done by the Earth Protectors Trust Fund. An opportunity to create material, try it out and get response, this scratch performance of Bright Raven! brings together three very different artists, who manage to link the idea of the raven and the cause of the environment in their separate ways.
Feeling as though one is being lead through an alternative therapy session by Hoax Theatre member, Flavia Bertram, a meditative visualisation helped by trance-like, electronic music, carries us through a fantastical journey and her transformation into Bright Raven. Once back in the here and now, she draws on us to participate in creating a group identity, tying into the introduction of the two guest acts. With Mahler wafting in the background, Michelle Madsen, founder and host of Hammer and Tongue – part of the slam poetry network – enacts her own poem about a girl who dreams of flying. A slightly offbeat mixture of imagination and reality, the characterisation and imagery are quirky and engaging.
Vanessa Hammick, co-founder of Croydon Bicycle Theatre ’17, uses her turn to endorse a new vision of cycling to improve health and save lives. More of a thoughtful chat with a comic slant, we warm to her humour and sincerity. Needing to draw the evening to an end somehow, Bertram uses her ‘impro’ style to encourage a final round of group healing.
The Blue Elephant Theatre have an open-minded and generous approach to encouraging artists of all genres to write, rehearse and perform, providing facilities and feedback. Not to be judged as a fully-fledged show, it is interesting to be part of this creative process for Bright Raven and Friends, which is full of inspiration and integrity, if not fully formed.
Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington
Bright Raven!
Blue Elephant Theatre
Previously reviewed at this venue:
Sisyphus Distressing | ★★★★ | March 2018
Boxman | ★★★★ | July 2018
Alice: The Lost Chapter | ★★★★★ | October 2018
My Brother’s Drug | ★★★ | October 2018
Bost Uni Plues | ★★★★ | November 2018
Canary | ★★★½ | November 2018
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