Review: Scenes from a Falling World, The Coronet Theatre

Taking the stage at the Coronet Theatre, a venue bold in atmosphere, seems fitting for an evening of bold work from the RADA MA Theatre Lab graduates, continuing a strong relationship between the course and theatre. 

Within the trio of pieces presented, Scenes from a Falling World by Burning Ladder Theatre commands the space, efficiently using the stage to bring the enormity of the leaves, sky, and love to the auditorium. Strength comes in the simplicity of the props and set: a ladder, globe, walking stick, doll, and wig. The focal point of the ladder and its symbolic use aids the narrative well. Use of signs, reminiscent of Brechtian theatre, to label the ladder as “Tree” and “Sky” is comical but also grounds a narrative that jumps between time, location and character, creating clarity. The best use of signage involves labelling a fan as “Wind” – a very on-the-nose moment of comedy that landed well with the audience. 

“But the fall itself is beautiful”, speaks the professor, reflecting on not just the aftermath of a fall but the actual art of falling, floating even, as he describes it. And an art it certainly seems to be, the quartet of performers interweaving physical theatre with grand love stories and comedy to bring the audience into their ‘falling world’. 

The biggest strength comes in the cast’s commitment to their creation. Physically and vocally, all performers are engaged throughout. Together, they find moments of intensity but also don’t fear the quieter moments their narrative demands. Individually, they give enjoyable performances: Emma Yvette Conlon balances humour and sensitivity as a grandmother afraid to fall; Jonah Buksbaum is energetic and youthful in his movement and comedic delivery; Tara Kitson is particularly moving in a monologue exploring the world that generations pass down; and Will Choy Edelson powerfully uses movement to convey relationships, making for tender and intimate moments.

In movement, the company is strongest: athletic in lifts, choreography and with excellent cartwheels. The choice to incorporate falling into the sequences is fitting, and they demonstrate a fall’s beauty, moving with elegance and control. It is as if they are floating, an idea of Einstein’s that the professor describes. There is clear trust between the performers and, as a result, most lifts and falls are seamless. Moments of slight uncertainty in lifts or with props (particularly an uncooperative globe) did occur, but these were dealt with well, proving the commitment of each performer to the collective. 

A standout moment involves Choy Edelson and Kitson as lovers, supported by Buksbaum as the couple’s future son, the three moving through a series of lifts, falls and shapes several times, each time more significant as we are invited further into their ‘falling world’ through scenes of dialogue. This sequence allows for a particularly poignant moment later, when Kitson’s character expresses her wish that she still had her lover to fall with. This exploration of feelings about with whom we fall is the strongest within the piece, similarly expressed earlier by the grandmother who is also lost without her love. An element I would have loved to see more was the ‘falling world’ passed between generations, an ambitious idea with potential to be expanded and the connection between each generation emphasised more within the existing narrative. 

This is a committed and ambitious piece from the start through to the bows. Burning Ladder show strength as a collective, making for a touching, humorous and athletic performance that asks questions not just about our response to falling, but how we fall and who we’d like to fall with us – not if, but when we do.

Created by Burning Ladder Theatre (Emma Yvette Conlon, Will Choy Edelson, Jonah Buksbaum and Tara Kitson)

This run at Coronet Theatre is now completed. The production will play again as part of the Camden Fringe at Arches Lane Theatre, Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 August.