Crying Out Loud Blog

I sat in on some of Monday’s What If rehearsal today and was amazed at the transformation of the space. Having worked on Strings last week the Jacksons Lane theatre now looks completly different for the performance of What If. With the screen taking centre stage and a rope hanging elusivly at one side of the stage even empty the space looks ready for performance.

Today I saw the different aspects of the show really working together, the music, dance, circus, song and visual effects blend together surprisingly well. Layla is clear about what she wants which I think comes from the fact that the piece is so personal to her. There is a real feel of this about the rehearsal, everyone seems invested in this work and doing it justice for Layla.

The space and costumes are very powerful and even at this stage where the performers are walking things through for technical cues I can see the Layla’s message is a strong one and she uses many elements to portray it. The Burka’s effect the performers movements somewhat, especially on the trapeeze and it is important to consider that women who wear Burkas cannot show their legs. It is clearly important to Layla to maintain this attention to detail from costume details through to the movements themselves.

Although What If has been performed before the new space will add something different to the performance. It is an exciting work which I think will surprise and enlighten audiences later in the week. I recommend the post show talk on Thursday with Rupa Huq for anyone who would like to learn more about the piece and Layla’s ideas behind it.