Quartet for 15 Chairs @ The Southbank Centre Review

Maiden Voyage Dance bring Enrique Cabrera‘s short, playful Quartet For 15 Chairs to the banks of the Thames. As part of the family festival currently running there, four dancers get on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and, well, play with chairs.

IMG_0003


It is a delightfully simple show in which a surreal world of of white chairs and music is created. The dancers play with each other, compete and tease using the tiny chairs that end up littered across the stage. Exploring the possibilities with child like enthusiasm the dancers end up being fascinating.
The interraction of the dancers resemble children at a playground, taking turns figuring out the world around them and each other. It just so happens theirs is a rythmic world full of chairs.

The show is divied up into several shorter pieces, of which the first and last are noticably the strongest. Surprise is their biggest asset and when they achieve this they are a joy to watch. Only once the play seems to drag on a bit, when the cast cross the stage on the chairs which becomes rather monotunous.

The music is arranged by Brian Irvine and he draws on the works of Bach. The music is a good blend of dramatic and playful, just like the show. If you want to introduce a child to classical music, you can do a lot worse than this show. It is a joy to watch, easy on the eye and ear. It is very much an all age show and children will be fascinated as the adults are delighted. Highly reccomended. 4/5

Review written by Ingimar Sverrisson.

Quartet for 15 Chairs was on at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Centre) from Saturday 14th-Sunday 15th February 2015. For more information on future shows at the theatre, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop