Warming Up

Wednesday 30th November 2005

About a year ago, you may remember (and if you don't then click on this link, you idiot) I went to see a show called Tropicana, put on by a theatre group called Shunt. Tonight I went along to the same underground venue to witness their new show, Amato Saltone.
I didn't enjoy it quite as much as last year's show, but it's still a big recommend for anyone looking for a weird and wonderful theatrical experience. Although I am not sure I really understood what it was all about exactly, there were some beautiful things to look at and the piece plays with perspective rather wonderfully. As with last time, one of the most enjoyable things is that the audience is split into four groups, all of whom (presumably) get a different show from a different angle. Annoyingly there was a big school trip (of I'm guessing some sixth form) in with this particular show and though sniggering and farting were kept to a minimum (but alas not totally absent), it slightly skewed the show for me because a large proportion of people in the room knew each other. There was a sinister element to the show, where one wondered who was an audience member and who a performer, so that was slightly spolied by the fact that you knew 80% of the people there were known to each other and definitely in the audience. But also the farting and the sniggering slightly pricked what was quite a tense and frightening atmosphere.
But as with last year it was an incredible imaginative use of this strange and spooky space. Go and see it.