Company Chameleon is presenting the final dates of Witness next month.
“an intense, powerful production” (British Theatre Guide)
2 May DanceEast, Jerwood DanceHouse, Ipswich
18 May Déda, Derby
“a courageous piece of work and a significant attempt to speak out on a still-taboo subject” Review Hub
Company Chameleon’s evening opens with Words Unspoken, a frenetic and at times discomforting 20 minute work originally choreographed by Chameleon’s joint artistic directors Kevin Edward Turner and Anthony Missen for La Mov Dance Company in Spain, and inspired by the secrets of cast and creatives involved in the project.
Turner’s semi-autobiographical work (also called Witness) forms the second part of the double-bill and the meat of the evening. Drawing on his own experience of bi-polar illness and specifically his mental breakdown in 2013, Witness charts Turner’s journey as he swings rapidly between two contrasting states of mind, before being committed to a psychiatric hospital. Turner’s choreography is unflinchingly physical and emotionally honest, mingling moments of realism with exceptional partner-work to explore a difficult topic with refreshing openness.