There

By Elbow Room

Sometimes when you are sitting in the dark waiting for something extraordinary to happen, it does. To try to explain There would be almost impossible. I am still trying to piece it together, but the more I try to gather the threads the more they are pulled from my hands leaving me with a lovely afterglow. And, believe me, that’s a great thing.

What I can tell you is that the performances by Emily Tomlins and Angus Grant in this two-hander are passionate, exuberant and incredibly engaging. Dressed in black, with a black stage and only a couple of black boxes as props, Tomlins and Grant create a believable world that begins with their hands: a spotlight on their fingers walking across the boxes to create the beings that open and close the show.

The performances from Tomlins during her Helen of Troy rave (yes, this show has it all) and later from Grant when he joins the audience to cast doubt upon the integrity of his female cohort, are brilliant. It is intense, fiery and passionate.

Humour is integral in this production. It is such a joyous experience to be part of – And you do feel part of it. The lighting and sound production are subtle but perfect for a work where it is so important that the performers not be upstaged by either.

Microphones become characters or at least another consciousness, hand-held torches allow the duo to read the minds of audience members and there are simple but clever devices used to portray the stories within the show. Marcel Dorney's direction ensures that There never becomes farcical or trite.

There is a show where the players can do whatever they want and it works. It is also a performance that resonates and will stay with me over the coming days, even weeks.

Congratulations to Junction – it’s a little pearler!

Kylie Eastley