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

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Let’s Talk About Dis at Sadler’s Wells

Let’s Talk About Dis at Sadler’s Wells | Theatre review
1 December 2020
Mae Trumata
Avatar
Mae Trumata
1 December 2020

Let’s Talk About Dis, which first premiered in 2014, is part of Sadler’s Wells Theatre’s collection of collaborations within their Digital Stage in Focus programme. Directed and choreographed by Hetain Patel, the piece opens with an introduction to Candoco Dance Company, adding context to what audiences should expect while giving voice to the kinds of stories the troupe plans to tell. Furthermore, the initiation illuminates the significance of Candaco’s involvement in this particular performance.

Right from the start, the audience will understand the title: Let’s Talk About Dis. The show’s aim to interrogate issues of political correctness is heard loud and clear through its refusal to label individuals and its insistence on not judging people solely by their surface appearance. The dialogue is sarcastic and witty, edging on lighthearted humour and dry satire. There are also moments of tranquility and realisation which are amplified by the buzz of the microphone, plain black stage and shadows created by the dim lighting.

The dancers’ facial expressions convey a range of different emotions, from reactions of frustration and  comedy to well-timed awkwardness. Dance, singing, spoken word and sign language are creatively incorporated into the performance, not just out of necessity but also as part of the overall ethos and storytelling method. The choreography exhibits smooth-flowing movements and transitions, timed perfectly with the narration. It is a shame, though, that there are so few of these segments.

Throughout the piece there is an emphasis on the portrayal of Candoco as a diverse company that spans the whole spectrum of identity. The group’s inclusivity illuminates the kinds of uncomfortable conversations people tend to avoid and confronts general biases and curiosities. After a build-up of sequences that specifically don’t acknowledge the performers’ impairments and identities, the composition bursts at the end with direct descriptions of the individuals coupled with an outcry of presumptions about the disabled community.

Important metaphors such as this conclusion, woven into the show’s form and content, are often playfully undercut with humour. Above everything else, this reflects the piece’s persistence that there is no need to wrap these conversations in abstract and poetic nuances. By dressing up language, these issues are only avoided. Let’s Talk About Dis ends similarly to how performance started: with everyone singing. However, this finale is disoriented by the different keys, tones and timing of their voices, demonstrating perhaps the progression of those involved throughout the work, before it cuts plainly to black.

★★★★★

Mae Trumata

Let’s Talk About Dis is at Sadler’s Wells from 26th December until 3rd December 2020. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

Swimming Home: An immersive online experience

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher

Mersa Auda
Read More

We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More

We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks

Mersa Auda
Read More

Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre: Centre stage for diversity

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More

RSC Next Generation: Young Bloods proves Shakespeare is timeless

Brooke Snowe
Read More

An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories

Selina Begum
Read More

A Livestream with David Bedella at Crazy Coqs Online

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Mae Trumata

Let's Talk About Dis

★★★★★

Dates

26th November - 3rd December 2020

Price

Free

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • The Capote Tapes
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Dig
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Swimming Home: An immersive online experience
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Win a DVD bundle of House of Sand and Fog, Away From Her and Young Adam
    Competitions
  • Crobar: Music When the Lights Go Out
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Six books perfect for beating the winter blues
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Assassins: Exclusive new clip
    Cinema
  • Green stars, two female chefs at the top and a controversially quick award: This is 2021 UK Michelin Guide during the pandemic
    Food & Drinks
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Uncategorised
  • Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

In Search of a White Identity at The Actors Centre | Theatre review
Chickenshed Theatre: Crime of the Century YouTube premiere | Theatre review