Unfurling and celebrating the dimensions of women through blending spoken word, song and movement to honour layered experiences.Rating
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Following a successful debut at the 2025 Lambeth Fringe, Eyes See Song provides a vulnerable, courageous space to listen, learn and experience women’s stories, conditioning, and diverse, shared experiences.
Author Pi’Dor Tampa brings her extensive insights as an Integrative Well-being Coach to create space to share searing stories of lives confined by societal pressures. Her thoughtful approach creates a space for engagement through song, touch, dance and reflection.
Eyes See Song is a valuable contribution to the Etcetera Theatre’s Women Writers Festival. They hosted this pre-show to share the evolving narratives, explore staging, and celebrate the interactions of this six-strong company of women. The Chorale Poétique ensemble is a powerful group of women embodying and articulating emotions across the spectrum from rage to peace. As we are welcomed into the space, there is laughter, dance and tactility, allowing us to engage as little or as much as we wish; the energy and inclusion are apparent, with Chiara Laferla, in particular, shining with joy, warmth and energy.
Through spoken word, song, and movement, we gain insights into each woman, their individual experiences and their actions/reactions. This is beautifully juxtaposed with group dynamics, through relationship comparisons and opinions. The focus on non-linear storytelling allows the audience to acknowledge the complexity of an individual, each lived experience, and their behaviours and responses in a variety of circumstances. Many of us, in the audience, shared the expressed pain of loss, the memories of transitioning from childhood to womanhood. Warnings of complex themes include neurodiversity, sexual violence, reproductive health (including endometriosis) and the joys and challenges of friendships and sisterhood.
The abridged production is simply staged, with minimal props and nurtures the strength of each woman’s narrative, spoken word and song. The ‘Confession Psalm’ is hauntingly beautiful, with tender duets (Kennedy Jopson/Pollyanna Knight) and compassionate depiction (Jopson, Knight and Laferla).
The cast demonstrates depth of character immersion and vivid emotion through dance/physicality and voice inflexion. The commitment and energy each ensemble member brings to their performances are both joyful and demanding. Their breadth of emotional expression is both exhausting and uplifting as they expose the secrets and torments of women across multiple similarities.
This is an impressive insight, sharing emotions from laughter and joy to the aching trauma of Matty (Natalie Efua France). The multi-faceted Julie Jade demonstrates her flexibility and physicality in a variety of personae, providing pivotal contexts between scenes.
We witness a gathering of women echoing the many layers of our experiences. The courage of individuality is deeply moving, nurtured by the many friendships that support and encourage. The balance of intensity and levity is adroitly struck, allowing both engagement and relief.
The curtailed nature of this pre-show limited the connections between narratives. The performance is disjointed and angular. Occasionally, characters are difficult to see, largely due to lighting and blocking. This will undoubtedly be fully realised in the production version, providing additional nuance and connectivity between the women.
Performed by the Chorale Poétique Ensemble
Playwright, Songwriter, Director, Costumes & Lighting Design by Pid’or Tampa
Music Production & Direction by R. D. Morrison
Assistant Direction by L. A. Owusu
Eyes See Song preshow sharing is complete, but the production will be presented in full at the Cockpit Theatre as part of Camden Fringe 2026 (29-30 August).
