CandyBomber: Fray – Sadler’s Wells, London

Writer and Director: Kate Duhamel

Choreographer: Ola Papoir

The premise for Fray, playing for two nights at Sadler’s Wells, is that of two brothers Tullio and Ziya, played by Keiran Lai and Kailon Chéry, who have a deep bond which unravels as Ziya is lured into a virtual world by the AI character he has created and Tullio’s quandary of restoring their real-life relationship.

The production opens with a rap by their father, a mathematics geek, about protons and photons, played by Sean Edwards, but this starts the production with a fizzle rather than drawing the audience in.

The boys head off to see an influencer, Paula Nyumbo, who is hosting a competition to create an innovative game within a year that nobly does not involve guns, gambling but most importantly AI. Again the rap here is weak and uninspiring, admittedly not helped by the earrings knocking against her head-worn mic.

At the competition launch the brothers encounter a dance crew whose breakdance Ziya disses as commercial. However, it is the starting point for the frayed relationship with Tullio who aspires to learn their techniques and become part of the crew. The problem is that their dance-off doesn’t dazzle either. There is a sense that the dance improves through the production but something more modern, complex, sensual and exciting would be expected. The choreography is not the thread binding this production.

The most enjoyable parts of the production are when the crew are dancing to hip-hop and there are good solo pieces by Tullio when he is caught in an ever-decreasing vortex of the insular world he is creating and by Ziya, as he is lost in torment on how to re-engage with his brother and reforge their relationship.

The graphics on a large screen backdrop for the whole performance are well designed and the AI avatar is one of the best characters, having a voice that actually projects and feels immersive. There is a promised video game to add to the multi-platform nature of the production, but this does not appear to be up yet.

This production could be so much more; the ingredients of hip hop music, breakdancing with spoken word are ones to excite but here there is far too much reliance on dialogue to draw the story along, which in parts is cringingly bad, rather than storytelling through dance or innovative poetical rap.

There feels a disconnect in the relationship between the brothers which could have been developed through them interacting in performance together on the stage. The angst in the relationship and the distance that opens between them in the real and virtual worlds could be further explored through immersive choreography, music and rap.

All the ingredients are here but this CandyBomber production lacks cohesion between the art forms and limits the passion, innovation and excitement.

Runs until 22 June 2024