The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Best of BE Festival at the Barbican

Best of BE Festival at the Barbican | Theatre review
13 October 2014
Rafael Cunha
Avatar
Rafael Cunha
13 October 2014

The Barbican last week showcased a small variety of radical, provocative and groundbreaking performances at the Birmingham European Festival, bringing a taste of European art onto the UK stage.2BE-Festival-2014-Birmingham-Rep---Loops-and-Breaks-by-Julia-Schwarzbach-Alex-Brenner

From Waltz to the Mambo by Hungarian group Radioballet, choreographed by Milán Ujvári starts the night with some dramatic tension, as he walks to the stage to question the audience: “Do you like dancing?” This moment is subtly continuous throughout the piece as the artist provocatively and profoundly questions ideas of education and their presence in contemporary dancing, as a perspiring, effortful, strenuous path to sophistication. Through discourse, the artist creates a new language that is at times uncomfortable, as he reads theory of dancing with flair, proper taste, grace and professionalism. Milán’s performance at times could be more pressing, as only in some moments  does he take control of the stage.

Loops and Breaks by Julia Scwarzbach from Austria set a different scene of theatre, ritual and interconnection. The artist gives the audience envelopes containing to-do lists during the act and very suddenly the room gains a whole new energy, through tension, motion and humour. The props are aligned onstage while the audience collects them as informed by this envelope. The actress swaps roles with the audience creating a vibrant atmosphere, until Schubert plays, stunning the audience with charm and flair. The role played by everybody allowed for intense 25 minutes of nerves, entrusting the audience with an active part in the act.

The atmosphere created by the actors in the first act was felt throughout the dining break. A dinner in a light, lively atmosphere was served to the audience, and allowing actors space for storytelling and moments of camaraderie. It is unusual to share a meal during a theatre performance, yet it enhances the uniqueness of this show for its audience.

The third piece, Waiting by Mokhallad Rasem from Belgium, takes themes from Shakespearean plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, and creates something new on the theme of waiting. “It can be an interruption, a pause, or an obstacle as we wait in our daily lives for an insight or a bus”; the artist questions the fundamental ideas and human experience of waiting through performance and film. The piece comes from the artist’s own life experience, as he left Iraq for Belgium and then waited four years for his visa papers.

Overall, this piece is strong and provides moving images to abstract thought.

★★★★★

Rafael Cunha
Photo: Alex Brenner

The Birmingham European Festival was at the Barbican 8th-11th October 2014, and will be touring the UK until 9th November 2014. For further information or to book visit here.

Related Itemsartbarbicanbe festivalperformancereviewtheatre

More in Theatre

The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Natallia Pearmain
Read More

Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

“When you’re presented with different dilemmas in life, you respond accordingly”: Debbie Kurup on The Cher Show

Mae Trumata
Read More

2:22 A Ghost Story at Criterion Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

The House of Shades at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Csilla Tornallyay
Read More

Grease at Dominion Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

House of Ife at Bush Theatre

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Banter Jar at Lion & Unicorn Theatre: “An authentic and timely one-woman show”

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Dates

8th October - 11th October 2014

Links & directions

WebsiteNo map

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar
    Food & Drinks
  • The Road Dance
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Crimes of the Future: Three new clips from David Cronenberg’s dystopian body horror film
    Cannes
  • The Innocents
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Paolo Nutini at the 100 Club
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Amazons launch How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me? at Live Nation
    Live music
  • Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Corsage
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • One Fine Morning (Un Beau Matin)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Eo (Hi-Han)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Warpaint at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Armageddon Time
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

MilkMilkLemonade at the Ovalhouse | Theatre review
Alibis: Sigmar Polke at Tate Modern | Exhibition review