Trinity @ The Asylum Chapel (Ovalhouse Theatre) Review

Mystery and spirituality lies behind the walls of the disused Asylum Chapel in Peckham for Brave New Worlds’ short movement piece Trinity in conjunction with Ovalhouse. The female led collective challenge us to question ‘aesthetics of gender’ and to reimagine the ‘sacredness in our visual culture’.

Courtesy of Brave New Worlds.

Courtesy of Brave New Worlds.

Jointly created by Valentina Ceschi, Kate Lane and Guoda Jaruseviciute, the trio adopt visual representations of females through history, picture the Virgin Mary giving birth in a costume that seemingly contorts and morphs to the beat of Demetrio Castellucci’s brooding electronic backing composition.

Ceschi, Lane and Jaruseviciute’s have developed a symbiotic relationship on stage, their movements are fluid and enchanting, fully embracing the rhythm of the piece. The costuming brings the physical elements to life, scarlet pleated taffeta becomes a sacred gold colour within one hand gesture. The explorative beauty in the costumes make it hard to believe that this is not a fashion show, understandable given Lane’s background as a lecturer at London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins.

The visual effect of performance is imperative to Brave New Worlds approach to theatre making, if you haven’t seen anything from their back catalogue I highly recommend checking out their twitter (@Brave_NewWorlds) to get a real feel for their work.
Brave New Worlds approach to shape and form bring the visual spectrum of Live Art to the forefront. Fusing ‘live art’ with theatre can often have unpredictable outcomes but Trinity offers audiences a captivating view of the female body in all its beautiful forms.
Running at just over 40 minutes, Trinity feels more like a collaborative experiment than a fully formed piece. As a series of vignettes, the scenes work well but at times lacks a defined narrative focus, which could easily be overcome with moments of dialogue. The trio are in an exciting position at the moment and I look forward to seeing how they might approach dialogue and narrative in future work.  4/5

Review written by Niall Hunt.

Trinity was shown at the Asylum Chapel from Monday 19th until Tuesday 27th June 2017. For more information on Brave New Worlds, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop