Shutterland

Last Thursday I went to see a performance by Rhum & Clay Theatre Company.  As I've said before, it's currently Brighton Festival AND Brighton Fringe so there's literally hundreds of events going on.  It's pretty hard to decide what to hit, so I took the easy option and chose 'Shutterland' because I knew one of the four guys in it.  I studied Theatre Studies A-level with Julian, and was keen to see what he'd been up to over the past few years as I knew he'd done plenty of drama training.  I also decided to see it because it was physical theatre, which we focussed a lot on at A-level, and I really enjoyed using my body as much as my voice to convey a message.

I loved doing drama, and we saw some amazing shows over the two years, but I have to admit I've hardly been to the theatre since then.  Don't really have a good excuse, and then gradually you forget you enjoy something.  So seeing Shutterland was such a treat, and it didn't disappoint.  I think I grinned throughout the whole hour, just taking everything in... delighting in their creativity and innovative use of props, lighting, sound, voice, bodies... everything had clearly been carefully dreamed up and woven together to convey a powerful message.  The message of being watched, of surveillance, and fighting 'the system', was serious yet communicated with humour, surrealism and powerful visual moments.

So thank you, Rhum and Clay, for your creativity and passion, and for inspiring me, and reminding me of something I love.  Go check them out if you get the chance!