Three’s a Crowd (Roisin Kelly)

Scottish company All or Nothing present Three’s a Crowd, an aerial dance and circus exploration of the joys and pains of friendship. Flipping between moments of child-like pure joy and darker moments of painful conflict, the cyclical nature of friendships is explored. The tensions that can arise in a friendship turned poisonous are painted clearly in the relationships depicted. The lack of balance in certain friendship dynamics, the highs and lows and the complications that arise when romance, sex and jealousy interfere are all to the fore.

Spinning off from a group photo taken at the beginning of the piece, the complications of human relationships are unraveled before our eyes with the repetitive and frustrating elements personified in the repetition of the running dancers being yanked back to where they began, over and over again. Aerial acrobatics on silks, trapeze and hoops create at times visually beautiful play, but the frequent soundtrack changes occasionally jar and interrupt the flow of the piece.

The central ‘friend’ comments on the events that unfold, in a narration that at times felt unnecessary, although it added sporadic moments of humour. The journey and progression of some of the characters seemed somewhat more developed than the others leaving something lacking in the progress of the piece.

Three’s a Crowd is a visually pleasing, skilful performance touching on resonant themes, but perhaps not quite yet reaching the heights of what such a performance could offer.  All or Nothing is a company that shows immense promise and is developing an exciting, emerging branch of Scottish theatre in their aerial dance and circus fusion.

Unchained by Paper Doll Militia (Review by Elliot Roberts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butterfly (Ramesh Meyyappan) Review by Eric Karoulla

Based on John Luther Long’s short story, Ramesh Meyyappan’s Butterfly brings to life a tale of love, loss, and grief.

Butterfly (Ashley Smith) is a kite maker who meets Nabokov (Ramesh Meyyappan) – author and notorious butterfly collector. He is a man who likes to collect pretty things and display them. They become lovers, and all seems to be going well. Unfortunately, one of Butterfly’s regular customers (Martin McCormick) has been showering her with lavish gifts in return for her kites decides to take his flirtation and interest in her one step further. Nabokov’s jealousy is thrown into the mix, and Butterfly is left all alone.

Set to a musical score by David Paul Jones, Meyyappan’s simple yet elegant physical gestures tell the story clearly. Straddling the line between physical theatre and dance, interactions between performers are very precise, while the elements of puppetry seem to be slightly clunkier. Nonetheless, the puppets are still effective where they have been used, and add to the horror of the delusions that Butterfly sinks into as a response to her grief.

Meanwhile, the set design recalls the style Dominic Hill has developed at the Citizens – the performers are never entirely off stage, and all the props and puppets they need are incorporated into their surroundings. For those who are familiar with the luxurious intensity of Puccini’s opera, Butterfly here might seem slightly pared back and stripped, but it is nonetheless powerful.

Ramesh Meyyappan on Butterflies

What attracted you to the story of Madame Butterfly – are you a fan of the opera, or is it more the themes that the story explores?

I’ve actually never seen the opera (live) – but like everyone else I’m obviously aware of it.  I was drawn to the story after reading the original by John Luther Long, in particular the themes of love – anticipation, loss and grief.

I was mostly struck by the image of the mother having her son taken from her – that was one of the harshest moments I’d read and I could relate to this loss – not entirely, but I understood her loss.  I wanted to explore how loss like that (and loss and grief generally) manifests itself both emotionally and physically.   For me, that is what Butterfly is essentially about – and yes it is Bleak but it is equally beautiful (I think!).

If I tried to describe your career, I might say eclectic, but also that you seem to be driven by a desire to adapt new forms into your work – what has encouraged you to be so restless in the forms you use?

Restless! Perhaps, but initially I was keen to consider different forms to avoid being pigeon-holed, early in my ‘career’ I often felt folk didn’t quite know how to describe what I was, other than deaf or ‘mime’.  I got over that but totally understood that I had to push myself; find different ways to communicate theatrically and find a visual vocabulary that expressed visually the stories I wanted to tell.

Laterally I think that change of focus – to think more carefully about the visual elements – my visual theatrical vocabulary, influenced the narratives I choose to take on.  What seems to happen now, is, as I read I can almost imagine how I see a moment visually, reading Madame Butterfly a few times and focusing on that image of the child and its mother – thinking of her as the childless mother – I knew that puppets would allow this to happen, for that absent child to be present in this other world that was Butterfly’s emotional place / state.  Hope this makes sense!

Are there any artists who inspire you – and can we see that connection in your work?

Many – maybe too many inspire me although I don’t think there is an obvious connection in my work. I’ve actually found that I’m inspired by the people whose work I see or working with people, I’m very influenced by the collaborations I’m involved with and these do shape the work.

I think Butterfly happened and took the shape it has because of the influences and being inspired by what I’d seen in recent years.  Just as an example, I remember watching the NTS Christmas Carol, totally inspired by the genius creation and use of the space and how puppets were such an integral part of the story but didn’t make the production a ‘puppet’ show in the traditional sense.   I have to say that particular production sparked a real interest in puppetry and has to be noted as playing a part in how Butterfly was created.

There is something… not quite sure about the right word – multicultural in your work… no, that’s not what I want to say! I am thinking about how your work is performed both in Scotland and abroad – do you get different reactions in different countries?

I think I’ve been fortunate that my work has been able to travel and it sits equally well here in Scotland as it does in my other home Singapore, for example!  I think all who create work hope that it gets some longevity and travels, it has probably been a deliberate plan.  I think however, my work can travel given the language I use – visual language is entirely universal, we all use visual cues and gestures daily no matter what part of the world we are in – it’s a language that is understood.  I do tend to choose themes that I think are fairly universal – audiences want to have some empathy with characters.

And the inevitable: why manipulate for this piece, and why puppetry?,

The puppets allowed us to create the other world that our character Butterfly inhabits – the world where she is engulfed by her grief, the world that she creates, her preferred reality – being a mum!  That’s ultimately why puppets are used in Butterfly.

Manipulate although has been going for about 7 years, still feels fresh and as they like to say themselves, ‘innovative’.  It does have the universal feel that I talked about earlier and my work seems perfectly placed in as it celebrates or at least provides a platform for work that is visual.