Lost and Found Orchestra

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On Wednesday 7th January 2009 I had the pleasure of watching Yes/No Productions perform Lost and Found Orchestra at the Southbank Centre in London.

   The piece was derived from their idea of STOMP; however creating this piece was a little like ‘going back to the drawing board’ for the company, although they ‘were used to making small, incremental changes to STOMP, creating a new show from scratch was a whole new prospect to them. Objects they ‘wouldn’t dream of using in STOMP’ were now ‘fair game,’ they could now ‘pluck, blow and bow objects’ rather then just ‘beating’ them. This allowed them to ‘explore melody in ways’ that was never open to them in STOMP, so much so that the company actually refer to the piece as ‘STOMP’s take on bell-ringing!’

   Overall I enjoyed the piece greatly, however some moments stuck out to me greater than others. One of the more effective moments was when using sticks and small poles singular in a group to create a tribe. Still creating the ‘music’ they performed a small choreographed fight scene in pairs which I really enjoyed as I felt it was a really inventive way to keep the piece moving forward whilst still keeping the rhythm. The second thing I thought was really good was the ‘children’s playground’ they created, I thought they built the atmosphere extremely well with bird sounds being created, a stool selling toys, ping pong game and a pull a long dog, this must have been extremely well thought out as all the things I mentioned as well as creating a physical presence for the scene also provided us with the musical presence. The final thing I really enjoyed was the final sequence where it was orchestrated by a man and was done so realistically to an actual orchestra. I also liked the way he linked the audience into the performance making sound as if we where part of the performance. This I feel was one of the best pieces of the show which ended with the massive ‘choir’ on the top ‘floor.’

   The piece itself is contemporary because the style of performance is new; they are trying out new things with a physical theatre edge. They create each scene with a mixture of movement and sound with the limited objects they use are used as ‘instruments’

   For my own performance work I feel this performance emphasises that how physical movement and sound can create and tell a story – much like contemporary dance, pieces have a story behind them and to truly appreciate them you must understand this ‘journey.’

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   The piece is an extremely good example of a piece of physical theatre as they make full use of movement and their bodies to bring the piece to life.

   The performance was very effective in my opinion, it truly shows the marvels that can be created from another persons rubbish being recycled. After reading the program before the performance I honestly still did not know what to expect and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised, and that is great praise to the company what they have managed to make.

   Dominic Cavendish from the Telegraph firstly ...

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