Director: Ramon Ayres
Gut-wrenching physical theatre show REWIND premiered to critical acclaim at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe. Directed by Ramon Ayres and performed by global majority-led theatre group Ephemeral Ensemble, the piece follows a young woman named Alicia, her ‘disappearance’ following a protest, and her mother’s quest for justice. It is a moving exploration of the terror of the Argentinian ‘Dirty War’ of the 1970s and 80s, which weaves testimonies of Latin American migrants and refugees together to chart the acts of resistance which followed, and, more broadly, the ways we deal with grief.
REWIND’s storytelling is almost wordless, instead using physical theatre, dance, and music to chart the emotional pulse of its stories. The piece revolves around a team of forensic anthropologists uncovering a mass grave, and a short prologue tells us that this is a tribute to the Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense (Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team), who were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for their work with victims of political violence. As the group sets about raising up objects and remains from a wheelbarrow, every gesture betrays the devastation beneath their professionalism. Whilst the show is historically rooted, this urgent physicality makes it feel much wider in scope. A puppetry sequence in which the ensemble manipulates a life-size skeleton takes on the vital quality of a myth, or a nightmare.
Alex Paton’s live accompaniment provides the beating heart of the piece; he plays trumpet, bouzouki and a host of other instruments, sometimes joined by the voices of the cast and layered with a loop pedal. There is a joyous musical moment as the dissenters come together to dance, which switches later to a haunting score punctuated by strangled gasps as we see the horrors of a repressed protest unfold.
Eygló Belafonte plays Alicia’s bereaved mother, a member of activist group Madres de Plaza de Mayo, who we see frantically ‘rewinding’ memories of her daughter after her disappearance, taking part in silent vigils, and finally gaining painful closure. Belafonte’s portrayal of the profundity of grief and the pain of not knowing is shattering.
She is joined by Andres Velasquez and Louise Wilcox, whose physical sequences are flawless, conveying the joy and despair of their multi-roled characters with nuance. Josephine Tremelling’s lighting design also deserves credit for its unique approach to the small performance space. Tremelling follows the performers around the stage, layering projections onto them or lighting them with handheld lamps. As she hovers or swings or swirls the lighting over exhumed remains or protests, it is yet another reminder of the human effort involved in unveiling these essential truths.
REWIND does so much with an hour and the small space of the New Diorama. It is brilliantly creative, but its experimental elements never eclipse the urgent and devastating stories at its core. It is the kind of show which will stay with audiences far beyond the theatre.
Runs until 10 February 2024
