Review: Scattered – G Live

Published on: 11 Apr, 2017
Updated on: 10 Apr, 2017

By Megan Wilman

For one night only (April 4) Guildford’s G Live was treated to the profound spectacle that is Scattered. A curious performance fusing innovative technology and inventive choreography, Scattered took the audience on a visually stunning journey through murky waters and Arctic wastelands.

The seven experienced cast members from Motionhouse put on a physically demanding performance which kept the audience in a constant state of awe and anticipation. Acrobatics and dance were woven together to vibrant soundtrack scintillating all the senses.

We begin in a strange frozen world and continue to travel through deep oceans and dry deserts using only the actors’ insistent movements and creative screen projections as guides.

The crew and projection screen worked seamlessly, the film behind imitating the actions of the cast such as a rippling effect when someone came into contact. Few props were incorporated, but billowing sheets enhanced the impression of moving water and water bottles were used to create small fish darting through the ocean.

Apart from the crews’ awesome stamina the standout aspect of the performance was the unique use of the set and lighting.

A curved wall had been erected, enabling the performers to move across the top of it, hang from it and, alarmingly at times, fling themselves from it. The gentle bend allowed them to almost float down safely and subsequently launch themselves back up in a feat of great strength.

The wall also served as a projection screen for flowing waterfalls and blooming flowers, carefully curated to represent the many properties of water.

The simplicity allowed the audience to appreciate the organised chaos. Each individual performer would at times appear to be moving quite independently, then the entire cast would come together for minutely choreographed scenes, representing the unpredictable flow of water.

Memorable moments included the lizard-like movements using tiny muscle twitches and a human chain as the cast seamlessly flowed one after the other down the screen.

Scattered reflected director Kevin Finnan’s vision of a journey from the two Poles of the Earth with insights into the many forms water takes in-between. However, such an interpretive show can only ignite the imagination as it conjured up thoughts of desperate water shortages and global warming, but also the seasons and new life. It was unique, abstract and intense but also a sheer joy to watch.