The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • 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

Protein Dance: May Contain Food at King’s Place Online

Protein Dance: May Contain Food at King’s Place Online | Theatre review
13 February 2021
Emma-Jane Betts
Avatar
Emma-Jane Betts
13 February 2021

Award-winning dance company Protein bring their 2016 singing and dance fusion performance May Contain Food to the screen in a decadent display of raw talent and impressive design. The show is a communal sensory experience that goes about dissecting complex relationships with food, streamed via Kings Place’s KPlayer. With its tight choreography, a capella score and a few fun antics (involving cherry tomatoes and a live chat box) the production is a stark reminder of live performance’s potential to thrive in the digital landscape. Despite suffering from a few technical difficulties, May Contain Food feels incredibly modern and impactful, delivering a quality recording of Protein’s work that will undoubtedly compel foodies and theatre fans alike. 

It is set in a nameless restaurant; four dancers and four singers weave through the audience as waiters, serving guests while entertaining them with distinct depictions of diets and attitudes towards eating. Choreographed by Protein’s founder and artistic director, Luca Silvestrini, and composed by Orlando Gough, May Contain Food includes operatic solos about meat, heated debates about veganism (accompanied by a choral lament of cows), and plenty of audience interaction as dancers crawl across a crumb-covered floor. The talented cast expertly combines Silvestrini’s controlled yet emotive movements with Gough’s vocally demanding and unique score; combined with Yann Seabra’s memorable show design, the effect is quite literally a feast for the senses. 

Despite some inconsistent sound quality, the performance’s adaption to the online space is generally successful and feels like a breath of fresh air. As in the original live incarnation, Silvestrini and Gough have encouraged a participatory element that makes the online viewing feel even more involving and personal: audience members are given the show’s original recipes in advance, letting them cook their experience, rather than simply being served the dishes as in the original 2016 production. The food is simple, vegan (excluding the dessert), and contrasting in texture, the “courses” including cherry tomatoes, onigiri (Japanese rice balls), kale crisps and a sticky ginger pudding. The performance also has a chat box throughout its 90-minute runtime, letting viewers interact with one another and speak to the show’s creators, imitating the social aspect of live performance that many have been craving. The activity and human interaction in May Contain Food dismantles the isolation seen in most online performances today and creates a new digitally-led viewing participatory space. 

During a time when lockdown baking is trending, multiple diets are going viral, and eating habits can be seen as a political choice, the world’s relationship with food has never been more complicated or prevalent. Although May Contain Food is a five year-old production, its abstract dance sequences and harmonised chanting are incredibly relevant and relatable for today’s audience. 

★★★★★

Emma-Jane Betts
Photo: Chris Nash

Protein Dance: May Contain Food is available to stream from 12th February until 21st February 2021. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Read our interview with Luca Silvestrini here.

Watch a trailer for the production here:

Related Itemscross artsdancefeaturedfood theatrelive artsonline dancereview

More in Theatre

Gatsby at Cadogan Hall: An interview with Jodie Steele and Ross William Wild

Michael Higgs
Read More

Living Record Festival: Ain’t No Female Romeo

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More

West End Musical Drive In Online

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More

Hymn at the Almeida Theatre Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Songs for a New World

★★★★★
Sophia Moss
Read More

Night Tree at Pavilion Dance South West Online

★★★★★
Alexandra Fletcher
Read More

The Color Purple – At Home at Curve Theatre Online

★★★★★
Emma-Jane Betts
Read More

All on Her Own

★★★★★
Georgia Howlett
Read More

Monolog 4 at Chickenshed Theatre Online

★★★★★
Samuel Nicholls
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Emma-Jane Betts

Protein Dance: May Contain Food

★★★★★

Dates

12th February - 21st February 2021

Price

£9.50

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteNo map

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Smith & Burrows – Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Celebrate Margarita Day at home with these simple yet sophisticated cocktails
    Food & Drinks
  • Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – Hunter and the Dog Star
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Trial of the Chicago 7
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Wrong Turn
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Creation Stories
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • Minari
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • Gatsby at Cadogan Hall: An interview with Jodie Steele and Ross William Wild
    Theatre
  • The United States Vs Billie Holiday
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Berlinale 2021: Top picks to look out for in the festival’s 71st year
    Berlinale
  • Minari
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • West End Musical Drive In Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Hymn at the Almeida Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Bradford – Bright Hours
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Pelé
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
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

Talking Gods: An interview with writer/director Ross McGregor
Behind Her Eyes | Movie review