21 April 2023 I 20:00 I Lincoln Arts Centre I AD - PR Invite
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I thoroughly enjoyed this Demo event, a wonderful representation of the Lincoln Arts Centre’s relaunch to celebrate a new generation of rising talent and brand new artistic ideas. It is a pleasure to be returning once more to the LAC, so a huge thank you to the team for having me along. What I find particularly charming about this venue is the contemporary feel, and a clear willingness to adapt and welcome emerging artists. Studio 2 hosts this event, and I really admire the intimacy of the space. It gives a more personal connection with the artists in the way we interact with them. As audience members, we are invited to fill in feedback forms for the selected artists, such a nice touch to support these performances as they develop through their stages of creation.
Mishap Theatre begin the evening with an excerpt of their episodic show Twenty Something, which I absolute adore! The comedic timing throughout these 20 minutes is pure genius, and it is such a genuine, heartfelt comedy that resonates beautifully. It is even more impactful to see the audience laughing out loud and enjoying themselves, it was impossible to get rid of my smile! Through a string of fragments about venturing into early adulthood, the daunting pressures of mistakes and ‘real world’ challenges are satirised. It is endearing to see such a relatable topic, having recently joined university myself, to laugh about the mundane and the ordinary. There are spectacular moments of audience participation involved, which embrace the company’s chaos in the best way possible. Facial expressions are perfect in heightening this comedic effect. Collating all of this, and without the use of spoken language, Twenty Something really proves itself to be a marvellous show, for absolutely anyone!
Following this, Sophie Fitzgerald’s Slumpesqué demonstrates a contrast in refined artistic approach to handling early adulthood, with investing projection work to take us through a day in the performer’s life. What really interests me about Fitzgerald’s solo performance is the ability to highlight our internalised conflicts between public and private self, and what it means to be an adult. Through a set that resembles scaffolding, I really enjoy how the performer can take risks in a highly physicalised performance, embodying the playful life of a child, and the vast ability to embrace opportunity in everything. The piece focuses a lot on impulse, a silliness in wanting to find creativity in the ordinary. Slumpesqué breathes new life into the mundane reality, which is such a fresh perspective to take an audience on. It allows us to follow these ideals out to the real world, and just not take life too seriously, which feels so important right now.
The third and final performance of the night is Ewan East’s Piano (To Be Played In Any Order), in a largely different mode of performance to the others. It is so wonderfully raw in its execution, that actually hands control over to the audience in a clever improvisational style, with an interactive online poll. The premise is that a selection of narratives/emotions appeared in the form of a bar chart, and among the audience, we vote for the first 'mood' for East to begin an improvisation with. As the piece goes on, we can vote for different moods for East to switch between, of which he has no way of planning, so the talent to adapt to our choices (and a given key to play in) is an absolutely tremendous feat. It is so fascinating as an audience member to be able to dictate the direction of the show, with seamless transitions that really help us feel the music. And listening to conversations after this section, it is so pleasing to hear how many people emotionally connect to the music, a completely different sensory experience to the previous showings!
Ending the Demo event with a post-show discussion, these are enlightening in terms of seeing where these performances might go in the future! I adore how we are able to hear the artists talk so personally and expressively about the pieces they have made, to have an open discussion about what’s next. I also want to add a thank you to Ben Anderson (Lincoln Arts Centre’s Creative And Executive Director) for being such a wonderful host for the evening and introducing each artist in a very encouraging manner. I have my fingers crossed for many more Demo nights, because the talent of these performers is astonishingly good, I really hope to see the final and revised productions of all of these productions. As a ‘Drama And Theatre’ student myself, opportunities to watch these performances are so inspiring!
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