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Pros: An exhilarating performance that barely uses words, but takes your breath away and makes you feel so much.
Cons: You have to interpret and feel the show, rather than be given all the answers.
Summary
Rating
Unmissable
Emotionally-charged physical theatre in an emotionally-charged space.
Three years later, on a rainy 6 September, the Grand Hall was officially re-opened. David Jubb, the Artistic Director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre, notes that everyone’s support was ‘awe-inspiring’ and it’s the one thing that kept everyone going and working hard. The rebuilt spaces will allow theatre-makers the freedom to make the spaces their own and use them to create pieces that will inspire.
Theatre company Gecko lost the entire set of Missing during the fire, just days after ET reviewed it. So Battersea Arts Centre invited them back to revive their show (or complete the original run, if you like) and be part of the opening night of the Grand Hall. Missing is a piece of theatre that will move you to the core. It is a journey that takes you into the depths of a human’s psyche. Lily’s forgotten past comes back to haunt her, as truth is unravelled and emotion strikes in the most wonderful way.
There is very little speech in this performance, which relies on physical theatre and dance to express emotion and convey meaning. It is intense, dramatic and moving. The set design uses treadmills, frames and lighting in order for the audience to peek through to the past and understand how it intertwines with the present.
The grandiosity of Amit Lahav’s Missing is complemented by the Grand Hall in a perfect match. Lahav’s mesmerising depiction of how your past informs your present, was exactly right for this monumental moment in the history of Battersea Arts Centre. The newly rebuilt space is as memorable as the shows that will no doubt be made in it.
An exciting new chapter has just begun and this breathtaking performance is only the beginning for The Phoenix Season at BAC – 10 free events, which will be used as a ‘thank you’ for everyone’s continuous support after the fire. As BAC’s motto goes: “Non mihi, non tibi, sed nobis.” (Not for me, not for you, but for us.)
Creator: Amit Lahav
Design: Rhys Jarman & Amit Lahav
Associate Director: Rich Rusk
Lighting Design: Chris Swain & Amit Lahav
Sound Design: Enzo Appetecchia
Booking Information: 6-15 September 2018
Booking Link: https://www.bac.org.uk/content/44916/whats_on/whats_on/shows/missing?calendar=open
