大象传媒 - Coventry and Warwickshire Stage

Review by Faye, web producer

I'm lying on my back, surrounded by a creaking metal frame and staring at a foot balanced over a tomato. The fruit is swelling, on the point of bursting under the pressure.

I've never watched a tomato so intently before. But, then, I've never seen Footface before.

The dance - seen by the audience lying under a Perspex stage - is the epitome of the Fierce festival that brought it to Warwick Arts Centre, as Fierce is about seeing new things.

Footface was a very unusual experience from start to finish. The audience were ushered into the darkened Warwick Arts Centre theatre and asked to lie next to each other on a large circular airbed.

Looming above

Out of the darkness, three subtle lights picked out the detail of moving feet above us. Just one meter from our noses, the dancers loomed above. The four dancers tested the strength of the purpose-built Perspex and metal frame by throwing themselves (and each other) around its surface.

Without music to distract, my attention was torn between the beautiful visual spectacle of the feet and the haunting creaking of the structure.

We had been reassured the platform above was safe, but the sounds of stressed metal kept me constantly aware that I was underneath all the force and tension generated by the energetic dancers.

Playing with gravity

The choreography made good use of the unusual presentation. Frames were used by the dancers, to echo the focus we were being asked to give each movement. Upside-down positions and sudden leaps sideways were also used to great effect, constantly playing with where I thought gravity was.

At one point I not only felt I was watching a piece upside-down, but considered if I might also be watching it backwards, as if in rewind. It's quite shocking to realise how easily your mind can be fooled.

For the finale, tomatoes were scattered, running wildly in a reminder that gravity was acting normally, after all. This simple trick was a beautiful one, as the fruits looked glorious picked out by the spotlights. They also provided a good tool for the dancers - to kick, roll and ultimately squish.

This stamping all over the audience, followed by ceremonially squashing tomatoes on them could be seen as an act of hate. It's certainly a very symbolic fruit to choose. But the whole performance actually felt very intimate, as if we were all in on it together.

And the final tomato squashing got cheers of delight from everyone there.

More on Fierce

For all the details of the Fierce festival, follow the links on the left.

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