The thing about tinfoil is that you can will it into submission, press it completely flat, and yet you cannot wrest from it its wrinkles. They remain, etched into its surface, a memory of where every bend and crease has been. Life is a little like tinfoil in this respect. Shaped – or scarred – by our experiences and memories, we carry our life’s learnings with us into the next thing that we do so that by the time we reach the end we are no longer smooth and straight edged but criss-crossed with a kaleidoscopic impression of the life we have led.

CRUNCH is a show that leaves a deep crease in the tinfoil wrapper of life, long beyond its short twenty minute duration. Performer Laura Gaudin takes us on a journey inside her own pseudo psyche, aided by innovative and ingenious lighting, designed and operated by Isadora Lao.

Gaudin’s spare and perfect world, from whose perfection she derives immense pleasure, is punctured by the arrival – from on high – of a silver foiled chippie packet. Though it delights her, its irregular form disturbs and confuses her. She wrestles with this new, confusing feeling before making her peace with its crumpled edge, cleaving it to her heart where it inspires her to joyful dance. 

It’s a simple story, but with depth. Gaudin’s facial and full body gestures convey her meaning completely – so much so that at one showing a toddler loudly lamented ‘oh no,’ in response to a particular attitude of sadness. Lao’s wizardly tricks with light speak just as loudly, telling a story with every shimmer and flicker lending an aura of real magic.

The audience leave with a new lightness, munching on the offering of Proper Crisps at the door, perhaps learning to love and celebrate themselves a little more, crunchy parts and all.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

Crunch, crunched, crunching. Or perhaps a crucial point or situation, typically one at which a decision with important consequences must be made.
An array of multisized, oddly placed, blue boxes scatter the corner of Meanwhile Gallery. Two single light bulb fixtures hang from the ceiling. It’s a cartoon-esque space.
CRUNCH.
Our depth of perspective shifts as the playing of shadows and morphing of light begins. A heartwarming keyboard tones our ears. A single hand investigates the Crunch and glittery graphics delight.
CRUNCH.
A blue figure appears and gets tempted by blue boxes. There’s a nervous, playful energy that doesn’t take away from the already very dominant objects existing in the space.
It’s crunch time.
Crunch falls from the ceiling, confirming an audience’s giggle. A warm light softens the space and there’s a sense of longing for play and discovery of the new. The powerful emphasis on objects contrast the performer’s childlike energy, commissioning depth with ease. I appreciate the objects continuing to hold major whilst the performer simply compliments.
A strong heartbeat pulses the space and Crunch is alive.
Creators Laura Guadin and Izzi Lao are precise in their creation. The offering of chippy packets nearing the exit is genius in its most subtle form.
opens chippie packet

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer