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Marleen Vermeulen in Tam Tam Theatre's Curious |
One of the joys in working in this strange old theatre industry is that you belong to an artistic community that stretches back years, crosses borders, invites new collaborators and lifts you up..............and if you are lucky you get to see lots of great new work!
Yesterday morning I set off from home for Limehouse to visit my old friends at the Half Moon Young People's Theatre and to catch a performance for the under threes by Tam Tam Theatres's Marleen Vermeulen http://www.halfmoon.org.uk/
Walking up to the white Georgian building, home to the Half Moon I was full of anticipation. The front of the building is impressive, but in need of repair and when I was greeted by Jackie and Chris in their newly renovated foyer they excitedly tell me that they have just been awarded Lottery funding to do a total makeover of the exterior of the building. Its amazing to have achieved this in these times and is testament to the love, effort and tenacity of this committed team.
Its a space you can't help but feel the warmth in. For a small child experiencing theatre for the first time it is welcoming and invites the imagination. It has a curious calm that feels just a little like one of those wonderful schools that are truly child centred and which touch something of the child in the adult too.
I found myself there yesterday for a few reasons that conspired to get me off my b*** and get out. I first met Chris (Artistic Director) in 1988 when he was a young teacher in East London. He was an actor in a huge community play with over a 100 people that I was directing at the time. It was all a bit bonkers and involved dragging a boat through the streets of Hanault and Chris planting an oak tree in a park - it was epic and we had a lot of fun. We reminisced very briefly yesterday about that show and the intervening years of making theatre and surviving the inevitable twists and turns we have both encountered.
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| Marleen with Chris Elwell |
Also thanks to the wonders of social media I keep in touch with Sarah Argent (Freelance Director and Associate Artist - Theatre Iolo) who directed Marleen in this new piece Curious, so I followed glimpses of the making of the show through Sarah's posts. I have also known Marleen since the mid nineties when her partner Thierry Lawson worked with me as an actor. He now mostly directs and works frequently with the National Theatre. He's working on something for Little Angel at the moment I gather.
I went in to watch the show with Chris and was again struck by the inviting quality of the space. Its an 80 seater intimate studio theatre, and at the front were big red cushions for the audience of 3-4 year olds who were soon to arrive from a local nursery.
As they came in, again I was struck by the calm quality engendered in the space.
At the opening of the show, Marleen dressed in a plain white dress with a colourful headscarf sits quietly on a small box stool and just smiles gently at the children as they come in. There is no force here, no demand on them for a particular reaction. Instead her body language and expression are simply an invitation to be present with her. And this is the quality of the whole show. Its gentle, but not in a soft self-conscious way. No here is a performer who is in her own space, comfortable and assured there and into which you can enter if you wish. Its a perfect physicalisation of the invitation to imagine. And of course this is what makes it enormously important work. This is no packaged up Postman Pat. This is the real thing.
Watching the 30 or so children sit down and naturally accept the invitation into this world, reminded me of what it was like a little when my own children were small and you settled down together to enter a wonderful illustrated story such as We're going on a Bear Hunt. In that situation, imagination, words and relationship are at the centre of the experience. Marleen's assured style and understanding of her own practice creates a similar and strong rapport and sets the tone of the journey of the piece.
Sarah and Marleen's choice of music is excellent and deliberately takes the children on a mood and pace journey - it acts as another character for this solo performance. Its plugged into a collective cultural history in some way, with Wish Upon a Star weaving its way through gently but with deliberate intent.
Its a very simple story and therein lies its authenticity. Actually as I write this it strikes me that it is precisely what I mean when I gave my blog the title Towards the Simple and the Sacred. This is that. Its simplicity is beautiful and in the performance execution of the idea and image it creates a sacred space for the children to enter. I think this is what made me cry a little when Marleen tells us that its Hondje's birthday. As she begins to play with the utensils she says 'cake'.
What follows is a beautifully choreographed journey through making a cake. That's kind of it, but of course it isn't! Marleen empties a small bowl of soil on the floor and begins to move it, feeling it in her fingers, wiping it on her white dress. Gradually during the 40 minute show, her dress gets more and more dirty and then her face gets covered in flour. She rubs her hands over it as she concentrates on making her cake as if she doesn't realise the mess she is making till she sees her handprints on the dress. And then she just smiles as if to say - "this is fun... Its good to make a mess".
She adds water to the soil, she puts it back in the bowl and places it in the oven. The door of the oven is imagined, and the children in the audience understand this and are able to go with Marleen from the very real presence of the soil and water to the imagined oven door. Its masterful! (or mistressful!).
The use of the spoken word is a decision that Marleen said was one she and Sarah spent time on - both generally preferring to opt for no words, but their decision to place them simply at certain moments was a fine choice I think. At no point did it complicate or over step, the words rather became a recognisable name and sound and gave a curious witness to the unfolding. And I love the European feel that Marleen brings consciously or unconsciously to her work. There is a humility and confidence in this work which is a precious gem in the midst of the dumbed down rubbish which is the diet for most children.
Interestingly and by coincidence Ihad just been listening to The Life Scientific on Radio 4 in which Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith was talking about the dangers of young children being stuck in front of TVs for hours and how we need to be pragmatic in acknowledging the increasing place a screen plays in a child's life. She argues that programme makers have an opportunity to use the screen to move images and create visual opportunities and narratives that do not simply place the image at the centre of the screen.
Watching the show yesterday - of course I know only too well the power of real performance in real spaces with an audience. I was also struck by the inherent knowledge about how children develop that is woven into this piece. TV programme makers could do worse than to come here for some tips on how they could transform programmes for under 3s. Anyway - that's for another day maybe.
At the end of the show, the cake is made and everyone sings Happy Birthday. Its touching and gives a real sense of order and ritual and therefore safety. Marleen then gently encourages the children to join her on her mat which is a little like a messy corner in a nursery. The design by Candida Powell-Williams is simple and assured with great colour choices, set on a big yellow mat that reminds me of one that is used for rolling out pastry.
What was perhaps shocking and really a little sad was that some of the children gathered around the edge of the mat did not know how to play and touch the soil and water and sat looking at it tentatively. Or at least they felt that they were not allowed to I suspect. A few approached it with gusto, but not the majority. Marleen and Chris gently encouraged them to feel the soil in their hands and invited them to get dirty. But it was actually quite distressing to see the reticence and unspoken injunction not to get dirty that was present in the room. I think the show may have shifted the injunction for some of the children - I hope so. Its scary if not.
Curious sits in a portfolio of work within the Half Moon repertoire, which enables companies to benefit from being within an umbrella of a company who hold the same artistic and learning values. The show goes out as Tam Tam within the Half Moon Brand and will be at the Polka, Tricycle and Watermans Theatres over the next two months. Check out the Half Moon website or contact Chris, Sarah or Marleen for more information.
This is theatre at its best and most unassuming! Congratulations to the creative team.
NB. Photos reproduced from Sarah Argent's album on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/sarah.argent.908?fref=ts
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| Marleen and Thierry |
I went in to watch the show with Chris and was again struck by the inviting quality of the space. Its an 80 seater intimate studio theatre, and at the front were big red cushions for the audience of 3-4 year olds who were soon to arrive from a local nursery.
As they came in, again I was struck by the calm quality engendered in the space.
At the opening of the show, Marleen dressed in a plain white dress with a colourful headscarf sits quietly on a small box stool and just smiles gently at the children as they come in. There is no force here, no demand on them for a particular reaction. Instead her body language and expression are simply an invitation to be present with her. And this is the quality of the whole show. Its gentle, but not in a soft self-conscious way. No here is a performer who is in her own space, comfortable and assured there and into which you can enter if you wish. Its a perfect physicalisation of the invitation to imagine. And of course this is what makes it enormously important work. This is no packaged up Postman Pat. This is the real thing.
Watching the 30 or so children sit down and naturally accept the invitation into this world, reminded me of what it was like a little when my own children were small and you settled down together to enter a wonderful illustrated story such as We're going on a Bear Hunt. In that situation, imagination, words and relationship are at the centre of the experience. Marleen's assured style and understanding of her own practice creates a similar and strong rapport and sets the tone of the journey of the piece.
Sarah and Marleen's choice of music is excellent and deliberately takes the children on a mood and pace journey - it acts as another character for this solo performance. Its plugged into a collective cultural history in some way, with Wish Upon a Star weaving its way through gently but with deliberate intent.
Its a very simple story and therein lies its authenticity. Actually as I write this it strikes me that it is precisely what I mean when I gave my blog the title Towards the Simple and the Sacred. This is that. Its simplicity is beautiful and in the performance execution of the idea and image it creates a sacred space for the children to enter. I think this is what made me cry a little when Marleen tells us that its Hondje's birthday. As she begins to play with the utensils she says 'cake'. What follows is a beautifully choreographed journey through making a cake. That's kind of it, but of course it isn't! Marleen empties a small bowl of soil on the floor and begins to move it, feeling it in her fingers, wiping it on her white dress. Gradually during the 40 minute show, her dress gets more and more dirty and then her face gets covered in flour. She rubs her hands over it as she concentrates on making her cake as if she doesn't realise the mess she is making till she sees her handprints on the dress. And then she just smiles as if to say - "this is fun... Its good to make a mess".
She adds water to the soil, she puts it back in the bowl and places it in the oven. The door of the oven is imagined, and the children in the audience understand this and are able to go with Marleen from the very real presence of the soil and water to the imagined oven door. Its masterful! (or mistressful!).
The use of the spoken word is a decision that Marleen said was one she and Sarah spent time on - both generally preferring to opt for no words, but their decision to place them simply at certain moments was a fine choice I think. At no point did it complicate or over step, the words rather became a recognisable name and sound and gave a curious witness to the unfolding. And I love the European feel that Marleen brings consciously or unconsciously to her work. There is a humility and confidence in this work which is a precious gem in the midst of the dumbed down rubbish which is the diet for most children.
Interestingly and by coincidence Ihad just been listening to The Life Scientific on Radio 4 in which Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith was talking about the dangers of young children being stuck in front of TVs for hours and how we need to be pragmatic in acknowledging the increasing place a screen plays in a child's life. She argues that programme makers have an opportunity to use the screen to move images and create visual opportunities and narratives that do not simply place the image at the centre of the screen.
Watching the show yesterday - of course I know only too well the power of real performance in real spaces with an audience. I was also struck by the inherent knowledge about how children develop that is woven into this piece. TV programme makers could do worse than to come here for some tips on how they could transform programmes for under 3s. Anyway - that's for another day maybe.
At the end of the show, the cake is made and everyone sings Happy Birthday. Its touching and gives a real sense of order and ritual and therefore safety. Marleen then gently encourages the children to join her on her mat which is a little like a messy corner in a nursery. The design by Candida Powell-Williams is simple and assured with great colour choices, set on a big yellow mat that reminds me of one that is used for rolling out pastry.
What was perhaps shocking and really a little sad was that some of the children gathered around the edge of the mat did not know how to play and touch the soil and water and sat looking at it tentatively. Or at least they felt that they were not allowed to I suspect. A few approached it with gusto, but not the majority. Marleen and Chris gently encouraged them to feel the soil in their hands and invited them to get dirty. But it was actually quite distressing to see the reticence and unspoken injunction not to get dirty that was present in the room. I think the show may have shifted the injunction for some of the children - I hope so. Its scary if not.
Curious sits in a portfolio of work within the Half Moon repertoire, which enables companies to benefit from being within an umbrella of a company who hold the same artistic and learning values. The show goes out as Tam Tam within the Half Moon Brand and will be at the Polka, Tricycle and Watermans Theatres over the next two months. Check out the Half Moon website or contact Chris, Sarah or Marleen for more information.
This is theatre at its best and most unassuming! Congratulations to the creative team.
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| Sarah |
NB. Photos reproduced from Sarah Argent's album on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/sarah.argent.908?fref=ts
1 comment:
Think you may have started a blog for a global - well at least national (?) - company of artistic folk...its feels very inclusive, even a common and garden artisan can engage with it. Thank you.
Love the thought of those three and four year olds immersed in mud and theatre. Reminds me of the mud cakes I used to make under the house with stilts, with my wooden dolls as audience!
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