Review: IF YOU FALL, HOME Manchester - Tour
Photo credit: Camilla Adams
Multi-award-winning theatre company Ad Infinitum bring their latest creation If You Fall to venues across the UK to give audiences an insight into the realities of older people approaching the end of their lives, as well as what it can be like for their families and carers. Using a blend of their own personal experience and the testimonies of real people, the cast have devised a devastatingly honest piece of theatre together that is both beautiful and difficult to watch.
Although many experiences are featured in various depth throughout the piece, the production centres around the stories of Margaret and Norson, both of whom lose their independence and rely on the support of their family members and care workers. Margaret is suddenly left bed bound following a fall at home and her three children opt to take on the challenge of caring for their mother themselves at home, sharing the around the clock responsibilities between them. The lives of Norson and those around him gradually change as Norson develops vascular dementia and both his memories and sense of self begin to disappear.
Devised by the cast themselves and directed by Helena Middleton, If You Fall has been carefully crafted to bring a realistic representation of a heartbreaking issue that affects so many people to life onstage in a beautifully artistic way. The combination of theatrical techniques, including Ad Infinitum’s signature physical theatre style and the use of both pre-recorded and live acapella vocals to create sound effects and accompaniment music for the piece, are well integrated into the performance and allows the narrative to flow seamlessly. Composer and Sound Designer Jack Drewry has utilised the vocal talents of the cast to create a harmonious, dynamically diverse soundscape to complement the story onstage, and moments where silence hangs in the air are really powerful. Another particularly powerful moment in the production is the very final section when all six cast members are rotating around the performance space, alternating who is a carer and who is a care home resident, representing the continuous cycle of staff and residents coming and going over time.
All six members of the cast multirole throughout the show and are clearly fully immersed into every role, however big or small. A special mention has to be made to Heather Williams and Kirris Riviere, who play the roles of Margaret and Norson respectively. Both actors play these roles extremely well, telling difficult stories in a dignified way and not once do they neglect the details of the characters in such circumstances.
A painfully honest and beautiful production discussing difficult themes close to some audience members’ hearts, If You Fall has been brilliantly devised by a talented group of creatives. Although it can be difficult to watch for those who have had experiences with the topics covered in the show, it is a wonderful piece of theatre that truly does people affected, justice.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway
If You Fall plays at HOME Manchester until 13 May and continues touring until 14 June, with further information here.