Review Incubator, WMC by Fern Coslett

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Incubator is a platform for new companies that allows them to develop their productions in the Wales Millennium Centre. I went to see a production called ‘The Violence of Summer’ by Sean Tuan John and Bert Van Gorp which is in development with the Incubator . Throughout the incubator period they have tried out various theatrical approaches to the themes of the outsider and deviant in society. Research into sociological ideas has been carried out through reading definitions of a deviant and criminal court cases to inform their work.
The stage lights up to reveal around 50 rubber pigs all laid out in a sequential order with two older men sat in garden lawn chairs. At the starting moment they have already got my attention, through all the enigma codes being conveyed such as ‘what’s with all the pigs?’ ‘Who are these men?’ I can’t help but be intrigued, and this is something which is great about the production. As the music kicks in these men begin to dance uncontrollably between these 50 pigs for the majority of the 55 minutes, in some parts they slow down and the music gets quieter which gives the show a good dynamic of pace. There’s one prevalent moment when the character speaks about his difficult childhood however it doesn’t tell me enough to really discover the truth of the narrative. The production is supposed to express ideologies about the ‘deviant’ in society and a major downfall of the production is that these ideologies aren’t conveyed enough in the narrative or characters.. The production aims to combine humour and dance however with a big topic that is sensitive to society such as ‘adult males that hurt children’ it doesn’t do it enough justice to make the humour credible.
On the other hand the play is good on how it challenges and is different to other productions with its aim to mix contemporary dance and humour. The production is clearly carried out by a company that are enthusiastic and they makes it much  more enjoyable to watch. Incubator is a great concept as it gives productions like ‘The Violence of Summer’ the tools and advice it needs to grow. I hope that through Incubator it’s narrative and ideologies are improved to be more clear to audiences.

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