The Yard Theatre Archives - Page 5 of 12

★★★★★

“a work which touches the soul”

A Sea of Troubles is directed, written and performed by Peter McMaster, with choreographic and dramaturgical support from Louise Ahl. It is a work which defies categorisation, and is all the stronger for it. McMaster and Ahl have created a world which slips and shifts, expands and diminishes like the intake and exhalation of breath, and with the expansive logic of a dream. We see what McMaster shows us, on this blank stage, whether it is the men he so powerfully describes, dancing or moving together in performance, or intimate scenes from his own life. And, like a drawing in which everything is described with a single line, or a sculpture in which space itself becomes a part of the object, A Sea of Troubles is a work which makes us pay attention to what exists in the gaps – between words as we say them and what they describe; between being and performative being; between what is and what seems.

McMaster takes us with him on an exploration of what it is to be a man, a father, an artist, and simply a human being, and reminds us of the fragility of ourselves, created as we are in large part by language and memory. He moves beautifully, sometimes with lightness, sometimes filled with almost unbearable weight, but each gesture and shape is imbued with meaning and purpose. His body always has a seriousness of intent, which holds him to this earth, in a way that language cannot.

There are some lovely funny moments in the piece – moments of direct childhood memory which hit the chime of personal recollection for the audience – but ultimately it is as its best when it embraces its own emotional intensity. At these moments, it is a work which touches the soul.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Maurizio Martorana

Ways to Submit

The Yard Theatre

Reviewed – 5th February 2019

★★★★

“a fantastic and constantly surprising piece of theatre that discusses power on multiple levels”

‘No biting, scratching, eye-gouging, head-butting.’ These are the words that greet us as we walk into Ira Brand’s fighting ring. Brand begins with an address to the audience: “I want to invite you to have a fight with me.” She is interested in exploring submission and dominance, and believes that consensual play within these areas can impact the way we exist in the world. Tonight there will be nine fights in total, each lasting three minutes. Her opponents? Members of her audience.

It is a fascinating setup that elicits endless discoveries. Each fight creates a different dynamic – stronger partners taking it easy on Brand (with a sometimes patronising effect), weaker partners fighting to stay up. Partnerships of apparent equality are just as interesting if not more so, and there are fights that end in thumb wars, tickle fights, even a hug.

There is a palpable sense of excitement in the room and the time passes imperceptibly despite that the giant clock face counting down each fight. Between rounds Brand talks about her experiences exploring BDSM and Brazilian jiu jitsu, the other arenas beside these stage fights in which she has explored dominance and submissiveness. I would have liked to hear more of these fragments, to spend more time with her words and her explorations.

Ira Brand is a riveting performer, at once both thought provoking and playful, irresistibly engaging even nine fights later. She challenges the audience to consider their relationship with what is happening onstage. How does this fighting make you feel, she asks us. Do we want to fight her (if so, do we want to fight her more as she weakens, or less?), do we want to fuck her, do we want to fuck her over? Through these conversations she interlinks different frameworks of submission and dominance, linking fighting and sex in particular, but placing them in a wider conversation about the structures of power society upholds.

The Yard Theatre

Reviewed – 12th February 2019

★★★★★

“a work which touches the soul”

There are some lovely funny moments in the piece – moments of direct childhood memory which hit the chime of personal recollection for the audience – but ultimately it is as its best when it embraces its own emotional intensity. At these moments, it is a work which touches the soul.

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Maurizio Martorana

A Sea of Troubles

The Yard Theatre until 16th February as part of Now 19 Festival

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

The Yard Theatre

Reviewed – 5th February 2019

★★★★

“a fantastic and constantly surprising piece of theatre that discusses power on multiple levels”

Ways to Submit is a fantastic and constantly surprising piece of theatre that discusses power on multiple levels – I would fight to see it again.

Reviewed by Amelia Brown

Ways to Submit

The Yard Theatre until 9th February as part of Now 19 Festival

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue: