Futuristic Folktales – Tramway

Futuristic Folktales is an experimental dance theatre production which tells the story of the first womb. Along with movement and music, spoken words are also used to tell the story.

The storytelling feels both abstract and visceral. At one point, a performer mentions “a colour that cannot even be described” and the other immediately demonstrates said colour through movement.  However, for this article I must use words, and I am especially aware of the subjectivity with which I write. Other people may have experienced the show differently from me.

The concept originated from director Charlotte McLean’s personal contemplation of whether to reproduce. The scope is wide – birth and death, identity and injustice, the personal and the universe. The piece is highly ambitious. A cohort of people are listed as collaborators, each of whom has brought their own experience to the piece.

The two performers, Astro Scheidegger and Orrow Bell, are beautiful together. Throughout the emotionally and physically challenging performance, they are there for each other, whether flowing together or presenting opposing perspectives. I love to see this level of intimacy between performers, and I would love to know more about the process through which they built this relationship.

There is both freedom and confinement within the movement. There is a sense of a baby animal finding its feet. Sometimes they explore the space joyfully; sometimes they seem to be crushed. There are moments of laughter and slapstick too.

The lighting design, by Emma Jones, is simple in that it uses washes of colour to set the tone for each scene, letting the movement shine out. Sometimes, the performers’ shadows loom like giants on the backdrop. The music, composed by Malin Lewis, is strange and otherworldly, seeming to emanate from the world outside, that is, as yet, unexplored.

Is the universe, itself, a womb? Strictly speaking, the uterus, as an anatomical structure, is limited to mammals. But the production seeks to fill a wider scope than this – the whole of the universe, as experienced through the microcosm of the womb. This is a different type of performance than those I normally review, and I very much enjoyed watching it.

Reviewer: Wendy McEwan

Reviewed: 26th April 2024

North West End UK Rating: