Director and Choreographer: Rhiannon Faith
Lay Down Your Burdens promises an evening of dance theatre like no other, and from the outset, it’s clear that this is not going to be an ordinary experience. Using a performance space designed as a local pub the cast welcome the audience to their seats, chatting as they arrive. Some of us are seated on stools at round tables, of the type peculiar to a proper boozer, no gastro pub this, immediately drawing the audience in. Audience participation is part of the key to appreciating the sentiment behind the work, but is not compulsory, a simple red sticker Allows audience members to opt out, ensuring they are not approached by the cast.
Sara the landlady sets the scene for us, introducing the regulars from behind the bar and giving us some insight into their lives and the drink is soon flowing along with the happiness. The initial gaiety and dancing of the regulars is interrupted by the arrival of a brooding American stranger (Donald Hutera) who brings an intensity and darkness to the role that at first seems out of kilter with the rest of the regulars, but as things develop we begin to see that all the characters are dealing with the burdens of the title. While the concept is nothing new, regulars in a pub often have some sort of trauma to deal with, it’s the exploration of how we can all support each other to get through issues that propels the work along. Carefully avoiding the temptation to see alcohol as part of the solution, there is no sense of ‘have a drink and stop worrying’, we are instead invited to consider and even to contribute to the sense of building a community collectively healing itself.
Using the words of the characters to convey their outwardly happy demeanours whilst using their interpretative dance skills to convey their inner turmoil works to an impressive degree. The dancing is powerful and thought provoking and ranges from balletic through some purposefully harsh, jerky solos by Shelley Eva Haden, to a pub-favourite Irish jig. The cast are uniformly excellent with a standout performance from Haden bringing a sense of trauma and sadness to her routines exploring her troubled childhood.
By using a mix of recordings plus live guitar and violin the music and sound design perfectly complement the movement and interactions of the cast, most noticeably this is used to great effect when some of the audience’s reactions are played back towards the conclusion of the performance.
The work has been devised by the company together with director and choreographer Rhiannon Faith and perhaps this shows in the slightly confusing delivery. We’re presented with a somewhat bewildering mix of the banal pub standards of a quiz and karaoke; together with some dark discussions about death, abandonment and more. The humour is well observed and has the audience laughing out loud, the more serious moments give us time to reflect on what has been said. The alternation from light-heartedness to serious introspection does not detract from the overall experience. It remains a very enjoyable evening, just a rather puzzling one with a range of emotions brought on by the changing dynamic from humour to sadness and back. Thought-provoking and definitely worth seeing.
Runs until 29 March 2025 then on tour nationally throughout April and May
