In the classic time-loop film Groundhog Day, tv reporter, Phil (Bill Murray) attempts over and over again to create the perfect day, a series of carefully choreographed ‘moments’, with his attractive producer Rita (Andie MacDowell), in an attempt to win her heart. Only to be thwarted, often at the last moment, hilariously, time and time again. Some fans calculate the time-loop at 12,403 days!
Theatre Re bring their own, thankfully shorter, time-loop to The Studio tonight to wordlessly consider, and reconsider, the powerful bond between a father and a son, and the ‘casting off’ which marks the end of one generation and the beginning of the next.
Twelve and a half years after Theatre Re, premiered their particular brand of thoughtful and thought provoking theatre at Pleasance Dome, only a hundred metres away, tonight the trio consider why they still make theatre together, and in philosophical mode, ponder if it was all worth it.
Tellingly, the answer is not a resounding ‘yes’, but a rather more considered, and slightly sad, ‘maybe not’. Alex Judd seriously wonders if he should have spent more time with his young family, those early years gone forever.
Like a drug however, their joint quest to create, ‘moments’ is the elixir that drives them forward, and binds them together. This production attempts to explain how and why the moments are created, using a mixture of beautifully choreographed movement, from Guillaume Pige, exquisite musical accompaniment from Alex Judd, and some ethereal lighting from Dr Katherine Graham.
The synergy, respect, and love between the three is palpable. The looped musical compositions provided by Judd on keyboards and violin are violent, discordant then smooth and expanding, are an absolute joy, and Pige’s French murmurings and dance moves, layered below create a complex and dreamlike soundscape and choreography which flows along beautifully.
The show asks important philosophical questions about personal growth, and the acceptance of our own morality and it does a great job of drawing the audience into it’s complex premise. Unlike Groundhog Day however, the time loop we are asked to consider is all too familiar.
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 28th January 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Running time – 1hr 10 mins
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