Alma Mater @ St George's West

Fish and Game Make their mark with this unusual theatre piece

Feature by Amy Taylor | 17 Aug 2011

The concept of theatre as a communal and inclusive art form is turned on its head in Fish and Game’s Alma Mater. Dubbed as ‘a filmic journey for one’, the show uses cutting edge technology -  an iPad and headphones -  to create a new, and entirely mesmerising world that transcends theatre, film and storytelling to become a whole new genre.

Taking place in a white pod, built to resemble a basic but bare child’s bedroom, with plain white walls, bed and seat, Alma Mater builds a colourful and mysterious world through powerful images and music, as a lone child takes the participant on a brief but unnerving journey into her world.

Engaging and mesmerising from the very beginning, Alma Mater is a new and experimental piece of theatre from the company behind other standout theatre projects, such as Otter Pie and Eilidh’s Daily Ukulele Ceilidh.

This show excels in taking the audience member on a journey that not only requires their attention and their imagination, but also their physical presence, as through commands and actions the sole audience member becomes less of an observer and more a participant in the story that unfolds around them.

While some may be split on whether a pre-recorded piece played on an iPad is by definition, strictly theatre, this risk, this decision to present a story in a way that is both theatrical and unusual makes this production less of a black sheep of Fringe theatre and more of an original and welcome addition to the stage, regardless of however small that stage may be. Captivating, but a little confusing at times, Alma Mater is a theatrical delight that needs to be seen in order to be fully appreciated.

 

St George's West

until 29 Aug 2011

http://www.fishandgame.org.uk/