Songs, smoke machines and bubbles: what’s not to love? Boxed was created through a collaboration between Full House Theatre Company and young people from the Bedford and District Cerebral Palsy Society (BDCPS), but ironically the one thing that this show was NOT, was boxed. Thinking outside the box enabled the creators to include acting, sketches, dance, rap, physical theatre and videos to name but a few, giving each actor a moment in the spotlight to showcase their own abilities. The virtually seamless joining together of all of these different aspects was impressive.
Whilst there were more than six aspects to Boxed, the collision made for an immersive and energetic production.
Every one of the actors was from BDCPS and had a form or cerebral palsy, and each had a particular talent within the show. Full House’s compilation of the show was commendable; despite a constant presence on stage, the Full House actors never did more than facilitate the young people in whatever they were doing in an unobtrusive yet thoroughly energetic way. They also, towards the end, ensured that the entire audience was on their feet dancing along to a song written by the young people from BDCPS (a personal highlight of mine). The only criticism of Boxed that I would give would be that occasionally, with action being projected on a screen and also occurring on stage, it was difficult to know where to look. However even this is fairly unimportant, as whichever I chose to watch managed to take my full attention.
One of the lines of the song written by BDCPS, which I so enthusiastically danced to, pretty perfectly sums up the show: “The six sides of me facing each other are six sides that sometimes collide”. Whilst there were more than six aspects to Boxed, the collision made for an immersive and energetic production, which had me laughing, got me thinking and is definitely worth seeing.
