It was a bruising start to rehearsals. It’s hard to explain just how much SMASH IT UP demands. We had some scares within the ranks. Steve’s back needed some specialist attention and we had to sound out a couple of people for potential cover. Revisiting a show is not always easy. Finding the nuances, the detail and the motivation can take it’s toll. January had been busy, emotional and demanding. And when we re-entered the world of destruction, there was a physical reticence. It was hard to pin point what it was exactly. The Lloft studio in Chapter is one of my favourite places to rehearse, however it felt empty and cold as if unwilling to accommodate us. As the days rolled on and the set grew and the sweat and grind increased it became more of a home, and more forgiving. That first weekend we spent time at the Cardiff march for the arts, united with others in a plea to preserve culture in the capital. The activism put some sparkle back into our boots. But there was something else that pestered me that didn’t materialise for a week more.
As we were talking to MA students at The Atrium in Cardiff I had a realisation of sorts about a show like SMASH IT UP. I had told those listening a little about our sporadic careers in the arts, about carnival being the catalyst for me into a world of performance, about our desire to connect and feel the audience in early performance experiments in places like tactileBOSCH and Chapter and about the want to share the empowerment of performance with those watching. I was in full flow, possibly showing a passionate or an intense side of my nature, when I mentioned that what we do is pull our hearts out and place them on the stage. We become vulnerable, beyond naked and exposure, and say to those who will listen this is us… not characterisations, not well trained dancers or show ponies… it’s just us and this is how we attempt to communicate, and if you don’t like this then you probably won’t like us and you can do as you will with these hearts of ours. If you trample on them it will hurt but we are prepared to take that chance.
On reflection this may seem perverse, sadistic or foolish and of course it might be all of those things. But if there is one thing I’ve learnt it is that if you are prepared to take risk, show and share the truth, connections can be made. Live theatre performances bring people together and can present and engage in ways that can empower, enrich and infuriate like no other art form.
At the cattle market of the Edinburgh Fringe SMASH IT UP resonated with a panel of judges and critics who were assessing shows for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award. That in itself was recognition of the way we choose to address what we see around us. It was something to make that shortlist and we realised that this was the type of recognition we had been seeking.
I wonder how you will feel after a show like SMASH IT UP? I wonder….
SMASH IT UP is at Chapter Arts Centre 17 – 20 & 24 – 27 Feb (25 BSL & Soft Caption and 27 Audio Described), 3 March – Taliesin, Swansea, 5 March – Academy of Music and Theatre, Falmouth, 10 March – Aberystwyth Arts Centre, 23/24 – Riverfront, Newport 1 April – Borough Theatre, Abergavenny, 15 April – Small World Theatre, Cardigan, 20 May – Battersea Arts Centre.
