Tonight I’m Gonna Be the New Me

Before attending a performance I attempt to do some light research into the company and the piece being performed, instead for ‘Tonight I’m Gonna Be The New Me’ I decided to do none of that, but instead I just went in with an open mind not knowing if I was to see.

When the performer took to the stage inside a cubed structure, an opening choreographed dance sequence, took place with the performer moving what appeared to be in tandem with a blowing fan. The movement which started as an effective response to the fan, lasted a considerably long and towards the end of the segment of nearly ten minutes the initial effect had worn off.

The plot of the performance was based around the relationship between both the performer and the writer (who was also present), which resulted in the entirety of the performance being presented by breaking the fourth wall to the extent of regular audience participation. I did feel at times that the interaction with the audience added no purpose to the performance and therefore resulted in it to appear somewhat irrelevant to the production.

Throughout the rest of the performance there were some lovely elements which worked really effectively from a visual point of view. One which stands out was a sequence of still poses by the performer with the addition of smoke bellowing up from holes within the staging platform, combined with falling pieces of confetti from the top of the cube.

Overall I found some really interesting approaches towards storytelling came from the performance, as well as a clever combination of creative staging and use of light. I do however feel that the production seemed incomplete and required some tightening up.