Past productions

 

THE BIRD

The egg hatches; the BIRD is born; but, SHOCK HORROR he’s not what he’s supposed to be, he’s strange.

You might think you know this story, or something like it, but this Bird’s journey to acceptance has a twist in the tale (or tail!).

This dance/drama is full of colour, music, energy, humour, pathos and the sheer delight of creating theatre to be enjoyed by all.

Reviews for performances of THE BIRD at Brighton Fringe 2008,
23rd-24th May 2008

From the Fringe Review website:
The Bird (rating: 4 stars out of 5)

In the course of the Brighton Fringe you see theatre in so many different forms from sketch-comedy to experimental dance. Side by Side Theatre Company do something quite unique. In The Bird they use theatre to produce a sense of community, inclusivity and fun, elements which are sadly found to be in short supply in other productions in festival.

With a gifted company of learning disabled actors, dance and a range of dazzling costumes are used to tell the story of The Bird, who when born, finds that he doesn't look like any of the other members of the bird kingdom. The play then depicts his difficult journey toward both accepting himself and being accepted by the other birds.

Part fairy-tale and part fable, given a contemporary twist, this story combined poignant moments with others of real humour. The show was performed with commitment by the company, but more importantly a sense of enjoyment, which was so readily communicated to the audience. A particularly delightful sequence that impressed this reviewer was the 'bird fashion show' that showed great imagination.

© Fringe Review

From the Fringe Report website:
Verdict: Spectacular and delightful musical (rating: 5 stars out of 5)

The Bird is an hour of sheer musical theatre delight, following the birth of an unusual-looking bird to what happens next, and to what happens in the end.

When the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (1805 - 1875) wrote the timeless classic story The Ugly Duckling, he used it to point out that someone who looks different may also be someone of quality. Taken down the years as a gentle children's story, it was one of the first great allegories of difference, with a powerful message of acceptance, and seeing the person within. Side By Side artistic director Susan Wallin has written a new story which reflects HC Andersen's work but in a new context and with skilful re-aligning of its point. The Bird is a revolutionary as The Ugly Duckling, with a powerful focus, and one might imagine the posthumous delight of the kind and thoughtful man who was Denmark's greatest writer in watching this colourful, delightful and spectacular re-interpretation of his idea.

It's gorgeously staged, the cast is superb, costumes are stunning. And there's a massive emotional component - extra-heavy on the Kleenex.

Along the way in the bird's story there are terrific set-pieces. The Doors' People Are Strange is a quiet epic, with a great jazz vocal soundtrack and delightful physical-theatre/dance interpretation from the cast. Mick Jagger's Little Red Rooster is a strong highlight early on; as are the birds migrating, the birds' fashion show, and the coming of the swans - among several superb pieces - later. The thread that runs all the way through is the emotional grip that the cast and the story create from superb performances - the 60 minutes pass excitingly and effortlessly with constant engagement. In this delightful creation, every member of the cast is a star.

© Fringe Report

'Worlds Apart'

‘Worlds Apart’ is a production specially written for the ‘Side By Side’ Theatre Company’s 10th anniversary by their Artistic Director, Susan Wallin.

The idea is based on the Roman tale of Cupid (Heros) and Psyche. Through dialogue, mime, dance and physical theatre, this epic story is re-interpreted for the 21st Century with some modern themes.

ACT I

Belinda Fonteyn is celebrated for her beauty, but has no suitors. Her dysfunctional family want her married off and they consult a clairvoyant about what to do. On her advice they take Belinda to the top of the Clent Hills in Worcestershire and leave her there for some unknown lover to find.

Naturally, her first nights sleep on the hills is disturbed by nightmares, but when she wakes the reality is just as unbelievable. She is taken by a robot to a visiting space-ship where an alien tells her that he has fallen in love with her from afar.

As in all good fairy tales, this beauty immediately falls for her new lover’s charms, even though this one comes from a distant planet and wears a mask. What’s more, he only visits her at night, leaving her days lonely, with only robots for company.

Tobor, the robot with a heart, transports her two sisters, Isabel and Annabella to the space-ship in the belief that they will comfort her, but he quickly takes them back to earth when he realises they could be giving Belinda some bad advice. It is advice that Belinda, unfortunately takes and while Rostan, the alien, sleeps she finds an opportunity to remove his mask. About to suffocate without it, Rostan wakes in great distress. Belinda has betrayed his trust and he leaves her. She is distraught at what she has done.

The kindly Tobor takes her back to the Clairvoyant on earth in the hope that she will know how to find Rostan again. She tells Belinda that she must ‘go to the ends of the earth’ and from each place bring back a ‘living stone’. Even then she will only succeed if her love is strong enough.

ACT II

With Tobor at her side, Belinda sets off to seek out the ‘living stones’. Her journey takes her to the icy wastes of the North Pole, the African Jungle and the Ocean. Each new environment is dangerous and threatening, but with determination and courage, Belinda and Tobor find three of the four ‘living stones’. Exhausted and yearning for Rostan, Belinda rests awhile. While she sleeps she dreams of Rostan and tries to reach him through the invisible barrier between them. Disturbingly, Venus, the most famous beautiful celebrity also appears and seems to comfort Rostan. Belinda wakes upset and doubting, but Tobor encourages her to continue on her quest.

The final destination is into the mountain caves, where once more they meet with challenges and trials. But the last ‘living stone’ is found. Belinda puts all four stones together and Rostan appears, using the power of the stones to enable him to breathe like a human. He explains to Belinda that Venus is his half-sister. Her mother was from earth but they had the same father.

Belinda is with her family once more, but bids them goodbye, because she is going to live with the one being in the entire universe meant for her. Together Belinda and Rostan set out for a ‘Whole New World’.

‘We Are The Dreamers’

“We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams...”
Arther O’Shaughnessy
“...we are such stuff, as dreams are made on...”
Shakespeare

What do you dream of? Fame?, Riches?, Beautiful Clothes?, Love?, Happiness? We are the dreamers in this play, based on Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Celebs – Astria Dosh and Richie Star are in love and the paparazzi are pursuing them to find out the date of the wedding, but they only have eyes for each other – until they are interrupted by an urgent call from Astria’s Aunty Molly, whose daughter is refusing to marry William; the wealthy yuppy she has chosen for her. Amelia is having a strop because she wants to marry Elliot, a somewhat less ambitious young man.

Her friend Bryony has a pash for William, but he has set his sites on Amelia. Elliot and Amelia plan to run away to the woods, while Bryony wonders if this is all taking place in her dream. Dreaming or not, she follows William and the lovers, still in her pyjamas, into the forest.

Now we meet another clutch of dreamers, an Am. Dram. group of local workers, ready to set the world alight with their play – PYRAMUS and THYSBE, which they are rehearsing to perform at the ‘Big Wedding’ celebrations, if they can persuade Max the Milkman that he can’t play all the parts.

But, down in the forest something stirs – the fairies are at war and a certain purple flower is about to produce a very strange effect on unsuspecting sleepers.

What happens next is a mystery...

‘The Doors’

A fantastical tale told through mime, dance, physical theatre, dialogue and narration; with exciting incidental music. A delight for all ages. The production is loosely based on Mozart’s Magic Flute.

Where should our loyalties lie? With mother, father, lover, friend?

When your Dad is a kind of Sun God and your Mum is the Queen of Darkness, perhaps it’s an obvious choice – Dad’s got light on his side – even if he does send you and your new boyfriend into the worst weather zones imaginable to test your strength of character.

Highly acclaimed for their unique style and the quality of their performance, this award winning group of disabled actors join with actors and dancers from Stourbridge College for the eighth year, to delight and surprise with this new, multifaceted production about the rival forces of light & darkness, friendship, courage & love.

The Wrong Garden

A young woman and man are hurled out of nowhere to somewhere. Who are they? Where have they come from? In their desperate attempt to find their lost paradise they discover a real world where prejudice, exclusion, violence, control end temptation exist in metaphorical gardens.

Who is the Green Man? Why does he guide but never instruct and why does a gnome on a motorbike (amongst other varying forms of transport) advocate gambling in a wishing well?

This modern morality play has many layers of meaning but in the end the young people realize that the RIGHT GARDEN is the one they make for themselves, they, must take on the responsibility, the hard work and commitment to create their own garden and achieve fulfillment.

The Green Fuse

In 'The Green Fuse', the students present a compilation of scenes, some of which are being performed individually at Festivals and Examinations. These episodes presented in mime, dance and Makaton Signing, express ideas about the beauty of nature and especially our experience of it through gardens. But we also see how, by not respecting this Paradise which we have, humans can spoil and destroy it.

From the 'Garden of Eden' to 'Ground Force', come with us on an exploration of both the issues around conservation and care of our planet and how disability theatre shifts our perception and offers us another way of seeing.

In the 'Year of the Disabled', this was an ideal opportunity to support and experience the contribution made by this group to disability art.

Return Of The Gods

For the past two years the drama and dance students have been studying the stories of the Greek Myths and finding great enjoyment in interpreting these powerfully dramatic tales and fears and passions of the well-know characters.The 'Return of the Gods' performance integrated two of 2001 performances - 'PANDORA' and 'MIDAS'.

Prometheus

A modern version of Prometheus, the Titon who stole fire from the Gods. It uses Makaton signing along with traditional mime, dance and physical theatre.