adavis91

As part of DMU Performing Arts Company, we took the devised piece 'Left or Right' to Brighton's Fringe Festival. A participatory musical that invited our audience to complete the story using dress-up and props to re-imagine tales centred around a mysterious chest - no two performances were the same. Review "Interactive musical theatre sounds like my idea of a bad dream, yet I was pleasantly surprised. Walking into the theatre the cast are busying themselves, ticking things off a list, writing notes, giving an audience member a coin to toss and playing with the contents of an ample dressing-up box. I am given an envelope and a red piece of paper while being solemnly told not to open them until I hear my cue. The performance is slightly mad, in a good way, but still absolutely barmy. There is strong element of revisiting childhood games and the line between audience and performer is completely blurred. Many different stories are told, revolving round the mysterious content of small wooden chest, only to be interrupted by another dreamlike tale. All the performers deliver high energy and confidence which is essential for this kind of piece. The audience are pushed out of...