Provided with iPad and headphones, you step into a white room and close the door behind you. Alone, you watch a beautifully composed, evocatively scored, wordless short film shot mostly in the room in which you stand. As you see the empty room fill with two charismatic, spritely children who look directly through the camera into your eyes, a strange kind of intimacy arises – you are acknowledged by the silent characters and drawn into their dream-like experiences. ‘Alma Mater’ is a carefully crafted, imaginative show and a refreshingly unsentimental depiction of a child’s view of the world. At times its emotional impact wavers, but it should nevertheless be applauded for confronting both the darkness and light of childhood.
St George’s West, 5 – 29 Aug (not 15), times vary, £5.00, fpp237.
tw rating 3/5
[dp]
Sections: by Dora Petherbridge - ED2011 Theatre Reviews - tw rating 3/5 | Tags: Fish And Game, St George's West
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