Mayfest Review: Our Father's Ears

true <img src="http://theatrebristol.net/assets/0000/9364/Tinned_Fingers_web.jpg" title="tinned fingers" alt="tinned fingers" /> <a href="http://theatrebristol.net/whats-on/2009/5/10/tinned-fingers-our-fathers-ears">Our Father’s Ears</a> Tinned Fingers Bristol Old Vic Paintshop 11th-12th May <img src="http://theatrebristol.net/assets/0000/9309/3stars.jpg" title="3 Stars - Good" alt="3 Stars - Good" /> Bristol Old Vic Paintshop 8th-9th May Reviewed by Elizabeth Pearson for theatrebristol.net Editor’s note: All reviews are contributed by users of theatrebristol.net. They are the independent and unedited work of their authors and do not constitute the views, opinions or endorsement of Theatre Bristol as an organisation A bomb goes off in a busy store.. do you trample over people to fight your way out? Or stay back to help? Would you put yourself first, or others? How far would you go to survive? These are some of the questions Bristol-based experimental theatre company ‘Tinned Fingers’ ask in their production ‘Our Fathers’ Ears’. In the concrete cube that is the Old Vic’s Paintworks, the performers have assembled a patchwork of rugs, the space around them lit only by household lamps. We sit attentive as the story of survival begins. The ‘DIY aesthetic’ that Tinned Fingers favour in their work is in evidence from the off. They explain how to find the pole star from the constellation of the plough, using star diagrams drawn in felt-tip pen on crumpled A4 paper. Budget props, maybe. But they get the point across – if we were lost, in the wild, would we know the way? If we were adrift at sea, all together in a very small boat, how would we survive? If resources on that boat were scant, who would we sacrifice for the greater good? And in the process of choosing, would our instincts show our humanity, or a darker, animal side. It’s a situation the three performers who make up Tinned Fingers (Chris Collier, Ella Good, Ira Brand) invite us into, using simple, but effective techniques. We don cardboard pointy ears (no you can’t take them with you) to become a pride of lions and are encouraged to consider the animal within us all. We listen in the darkness to a story of terror in the jungle, a man separated from his companions, lost and alone, surrounded by predators. A metaphor for our own lives. Will some deep-rooted instinct to survive kick in – or will he perish? How much of the animal is left inside? 200 years after Darwin’s birth, these are the themes the company want to explore, with some beautiful images along the way. The actors, lit by tiny lamps, sitting in giant paper boats, in a sea of blue balloons. The vast walls becoming screens, a shadow boat bobbing across the concrete to a torch-light moon. A cardboard moth fluttering towards it, drawn in, and then away. All the while the audience are part of the show, able to affect what is in it. The show is ‘interactive’, without ever putting the audience on the spot. And the biggest chance to participate comes at the end, when the three characters state their case for survival. Each can speak only when a light shines on them, activated by the audience. Their voices compete as they argue their survival – one would hold you as you died, another can re-enact any film you choose, and the third has a ‘warm and friendly personality’’.. Perhaps it says something about the audience that she is the one ejected from the boat. There are moments too when the actors stand in silence, as the audience enjoys the power of deciding who will get the chance to put their case. This audience-actor dynamic is interesting, and could be exploited more. The actors seem almost too ‘nice’ to really explore the cruelty that can drive us to survive. They wouldn’t be trampling over anyone to get to the exit door. Their show is grounded in humour, not power. But there are, among the laughs, some real moments of urgency, of fear, of panic. Perhaps, if these were built on, we would get a fuller understanding of what it means to survive. Ultimately, ‘Our Father’s Ears’ is both an entertaining and thoughtful experience. Like being at a kids’ party run by a group of philosophers. This is theatre without the trimmings. But who needs trimmings when you’re considering some big questions, while having a childishly good time. mayfest, review, Our Father's Ears, tinned fingers

2009-05-12T10:52:21+01:00

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A bomb goes off in a busy store.. do you trample over people to fight your way out? Or stay back to help? Would you put yourself first, or others? How far would you go to survive? false 160 false mayfest-review-our-fathers-ears

2009-05-12T10:54:59+01:00

Mayfest Review: Our Father's Ears

2010-02-25T17:16:07+00:00

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