Sixth House Theatre who have developed the show Lives were founded as part of the new artist development programme at The Lowry. They are a multidisciplinary collective under the Hothouse project and have developed this as their first show.
The premise is that a mother is in court and the trial of the ages is in progress. It becomes apparent as the show progresses that the mother in question is Mother Earth and the trial is between her and humanity. Who will win the jury’s decision. If Mother Earth wins she gets to destroy humanity and start again. If humanity win then they survive but will they have learnt their lesson?
The first quarter of the show is too disjointed with no cohesion to tie the scenes together. There is no logic and no defined story to carry the show, leaving a watcher searching for some reason to stay with it. After this rather shaky section, the trial becomes more central to the performance and it begins to draw together into a coherent piece of theatre. Parts are clever and well staged, other sections work less well but it retains it’s core meaning. Both prosecution and defence state their cases, Mother Earth gives her statement, there are closing speeches all of which push the fact that the jury (inferring the audience) must make their judgement, so it is a let down that at the end the show makes the decision and the audience does not get a say.
The compact company of six performers – Chloe Wade, Natassa Argyropoulou, Gabriel Clark, Dan Willis, Pui-ka Cheng and Samuel Tracy – work hard and well together. A simple set of curtains and seating cubes make for an fuctional staging and the lighting, sound and AV are used to good effect.
Overall the show is enjoyable and powerful in it’s argument between Mother Earth and humanity. Taking the concept of ecological disaster and framing it in a way which brings home the reality without preaching. But there are parts which need to be brought into the plot in a way which makes it closer knit than at present.
The show only had a two night run, closing tonight, but hopefully it will be performed again and toured as at its heart is an important message to mankind.
Reviewed on Friday 7 February 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
Lives Matter
