PERFORMANCE & COMEDY

Bristol Ferment at Bristol Old Vic Studio (Thur 3 & Sat 5 Nov)

NB: As this was a showcase of a work-in-progress, our reviewer has filled in the standard  public feedback form and left off a star rating – in the spirit of Bristol Ferment

1. A friend asks you to describe what you’ve just seen. What would you say?

A soundscape of songs delivered a cappella by a 16-strong ensemble of singers, a strong vocal collaboration full of space and freedom to explore layers of sound and rhythm. It also creates an atmosphere – a townscape – in which we get a sense of people going about their daily lives, connecting with each other or longing to connect. The songs take a loose ballad form, and the whole piece is full of moods and fragments of personal stories (somewhat in the spirit of Laurie Anderson’s work), rather than trying to tell one linear story. The soundscape ranges from delicate and ephemeral to bold and rhythmic, hinting at stories without doing too much work for the audience. It is intensely sweet at times, uplifting and joyful, also sad: it evokes a lot of different feelings, with a light touch. It creates a dreamy space in which an audience could respond individually and in a personal way. All elements work well together and find balance.

2. Where does the show go from here?

Where we hope it doesn’t go is into a flurry of remaking, where it becomes more theatrical than it is, because it’s exactly right and valid as it is, verging on perfect. We hope the makers aren’t tempted to recast it using actors who can sing – it wouldn't serve this piece and it would lose a large part of its innocence and otherness. Where could it go? Just about anywhere, in its current form: festivals, gigs in music venues or small theatres, site-specific performances. It could be performed just about anywhere – it looks like it would like to go on a journey somewhere and take its current friends with it.

3. Can you tell us about three things that particularly stand out / that you find particularly engaging?

a) The beginning. A symphony of singers talking quietly to us about themselves in a very personal way, it was disarming and charming. One says: "I’m not really an actor". And that's the really special thing:  singers stand on a stage in a very different way to actors, more immediate and more ‘genuine’, if you like. They’re not trying to convince us that they’re someone other than who they are, or tell us a story in an hour. There is nothing wrong with actors doing that in a play,  just that this isn’t a play and doesn’t want to be one. Stay as sweet as you are…

b) The level of complicity and collaboration, the way that a riff is started and then picked up and passed around. The quality of the singing and musical direction is superb: nobody tries to take over, it's really equal.

c) Exactly the right choices are made about introducing narrative tableaux – a waiter looking for romance, a woman washing out clothes in a bowl, a busy guy jogging at the gym or slumped in an armchair. The small touches of theatricality are perfectly dosed: not too much, not too little, in just the right places at the right moments. The theatrical touches are sensitive to the nature of the piece and don't overpower it.

4. Any other comments?

Would definitely go and see it again, it contained a lot. Worth revisiting.

A CD of the soundtrack would make a good Xmas present, something to play to get you in a creative frame of mind.

It would be an interesting experiment for (some of) the makers to collaborate with a writer, director and actors in making a different piece in the future that was more ‘theatrical’, or to introduce elements of a cappella voice into a piece of theatre.

It’s great that Ferment continues to take audiences on excursions into other performance forms – this piece is a delightful surprise for the whole audience. (Rina Vergano)

Copyright Rina Vergano 2011