Bea Udeh went to see A Thing Mislaid at Nottingham Lakeside Arts' Djanogly Theatre...
A Thing Mislaid is a new show by Maison Foo, travelling across different terrains and settling in Nottingham for one night of absurdist theatre.
The immediacy of the show, with the sounds of contemporary folk music (Matt Marks) punctuating the space, grabbed you as you entered the auditorium. The two devising performers, already in character, were interacting on the stage, seemingly oblivious to us as we took our seats. The lights dimmed. Performers nodded to each other and the running began.
Flee (Teele Uustani) and Wanda (Raquel Pereira) are strangers, each running from, “Back there” to “Over there”, migrating to escape their traumatic past and find a new place called home. Some of the audience, myself included, laugh out loud when Wanda shouts, “You’ve lost your race number” to get Flee’s attention, trying to slow her down and get her to stop running.
There is a curiosity and duty of care about Wanda who wants to find out more about Flee and start a friendship. Little nuggets of comedy played out like this during the show, providing a slapstick nature to the double-act, which is more like an ensemble act as they use physical theatrics in numerous roles which are poignant, if not tear-jerkers, but allowed us to absorb each situation through wit (look out for the restaurant scene).
The set’s understated, but effective design and layout (Sam Wilde, Hannah Jeffery) mirrored the narrative of the show, reminding me of the organised chaos of a child’s play area zoned for different activities. There were the miniature puppetry zones used to film and project epic scenes and concepts, the circular central zone and the projection screen at the back of the staged area. Visually, the pallet of this play area was muted in colour lending to the gravitas of the stories being told.
The relentless pace at the start of the show carried on throughout, with moments of mindfulness to breathe slowly when the cute close-camera puppetry scenes were projected onto the screen. I say cute, as this belied the traumatic arcs in the story alluding to countries being massacred, families being destroyed, individuals traversing different terrains in order to save their own lives and the challenges of adjusting to living in a new country with new communities. Not only did this help to explain the types of “where” from where they’d travelled, but also how these characters are right here, which is often the theme missing from a BBC Question Time panel.
Devised with the input and support of members of East Midlands refugee communities, Maison Foo (Bethany Sheldon and Kathryn Lowe) are establishing new ground by stepping back from performing themselves. As creators and Artistic Directors of this show, they are defining a different way to express their love for developing absurdist, physical theatre with clowning and puppetry elements. They also have plans to become a welcoming theatre company for refugees.
The characters ask us, the audience, a question towards the end of the show, but the other big question that was asked was, “Is this still a Maison Foo show?”
The audience were certain in their response. Definitely. With a vigorous nod.
A Thing Mislaid was at Lakeside Arts on Saturday 20 October 2018.
Nottingham Lakeside Arts website
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