Alpha

There’s certainly a lot going on in Alpha: physical theatre, beat poetry and live music combine as the company confides their desires and secrets with their audience. In this case, however, the sum of the parts is not yet greater than the whole.

This is a production that needs polish

As one half of the onstage duo, Tamara Natt is a strong performer, with charisma and confidence exuding from the Adidas training tracksuit she (and all the ensemble) is sporting. She is at ease with her audience, breaking out of verse to tell us about her early sexual encounters as casually as if she was discussing her first day at work. Sebastian Robinson also has his moments in the spotlight, but the weighting seems imbalanced to me, particularly with only two performers onstage. If this is a wrestle to be the Alpha, there is no doubt who has already won.

From opening to close, a return to beat poetry gives this production a pulsating, visceral feel, with live accompaniment from Eliza Fawcett on electric guitar. I liked what I heard, and would have liked more of this soundscape feel to continue, but as with other elements of this production it hadn’t yet been developed to its full potential.

When a key part of beat poetry is an engagement with the artist’s placement of each word, it seemed therefore an odd choice to continually overlap sections and mar the impact of both performers. The effect, whilst driving forwards the momentum of the production, was sometimes overwhelming.

This is a production that needs polish – the synchronised choreography was noticeably not-so, whilst stylistic lighting decisions often left the performers speaking in the dark. Another is due to join the ensemble as a supporting artist, who will provide Sign Language to accompany the performance. I would be interested to see whether, with an extra hand on board, this changes the dynamic for the better – but I’m not sure it will.