Off-Kilter, Dancebase, Review

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Rating (out of 5)
3
Show info
Venue
Company
Ramesh Meyyappan and Raw Material Arts
Production
Andy Arnold (Director) Andy Lim | ARTFACTORY (Lighting Design) stev.e kwek | ARTFACTORY (Asscoiate Lighting Design) Joel Nah (Composer) Jessica Kennedy (Choreographer) Kevin McMahon (Illusionist)
Performers
Ramesh Meyyappan (Performer)
Running time
45mins

The character is a structured, controlled, precise and it must be said slightly obsessive individual, he's wrapped a bit too tight! Opening with a piece of rhythmic and compelling music which morphs into a ticking clock which is then echoed by strumming fingers on a ubiquitous desk, the scene is set. The opening staging and framing of this persona is cleverly managed and from the start we develop a very clear view of the characters life and approach to life. But this slowly starts to unravel as the performance progresses and we move into darker waters, much darker waters

Ramesh Meyyappan has a background in producing visual and physical theatre and this work comes directly from that quadrant. Although the stage is relatively bare; a desk, a clock and some shelving inhabit what is otherwise a bare, black, stark stage. Despite this or possibly because of it the individual is defined that much clearer and we see the minutiae of his existence with so much more clarity. One funny section for example illustrates clocks and timekeeping as a major locus of his life.

This man of detail and details has his life shattered by the arrival of a letter which literally drops like a bomb into his life. There is clearly some inkling of it's content and for quite some time we are kept wondering what it contains. Not a word is spoken and yet the emotions and anxieties are transparently evident. This is the moment his life goes 'off-kilter' and the actor employs not only himself to illustrate this but also an assemblage of visual illusions, tricks and stage techniques. Some of them it has to be said were not suited to me sitting on the back row of the auditorium.

The show illustrates quite profoundly how chaos can enter the most ordered of lives and how our fortunes can rest on the throw of a dice, despite all our attempts to avoid this. Life then becomes a scrabble to get back the certainty which has been ripped away. Does he succeed? Go and see the show to find out.

3-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-26 August at 15:30