‘The Space is in Between Us’
Alexandra Baybutt and David Somlo
Theatre Delicatessen, former Guardian newspaper offices
119 Farringdon Road London EC1
November 5-29
Picture a ’60s-era building in Central London. Vacated in 2008, it was once a buzzing hive of frenetic media activity as busy journalists and editors met the daily deadlines of a national newspaper. Now the huge rectangular fourth floor office is empty and run down, yet you can still imagine the staff hurrying between desks or being summoned to the glass panelled room in the corner to be given an urgent assignment.
The contrast brought by movement artist Alexandra Baybutt and musician David Somlo into this bare space is powerful. Alexandra exudes serenity and calm as she works her way round a few random bits of household furniture They look small and incongruous in the ex-office setting, yet there’s a connection which becomes apparent: these objects are physically occupying the same space as the newsdesks did before, taking up cubic centimetres of space in exactly the same way.
These items – wooden chairs, a coat stand, a small chest, potted plants, a few pieces of bric a brac – had been placed around the room by the audience. Following simple instructions, and asked to work in complete silence, we had been invited to keep rearranging the objects until we were all satisfied with the layout. Observed by the two performers, our creative efforts formed the first part of the performance.
In the second half, the space around these things, and their spatial relationship to each other and to the audience, was brought into focus by Alexandra’s graceful movements. With great agility she slowly eased her body into different shapes, here imitating an upturned chair, there perfectly capturing the outline of a potted birch tree. Sometimes her incredibly flexible limbs seemed to be responding to the vibrations given off by the wooden pieces of furniture, or even the walls in one corner of the room – perhaps the former site of the office water cooler. We’ll never know.
Although Alexandra started her performance in silence, David Somlo gradually worked in a musical accompaniment. His improvised guitar sounds lent an interesting musical texture to the event. Improvisation is a key element of the entire performance. Alexandra’s movements have to change to work with the set created for her by that evening’s audience and David’s music is well-integrated into this.
The two artists in this pleasing performance succeed in giving ‘space exploration’ – a favourite topic of newspapers – a whole new meaning. I found it charming and thought provoking.
Ballet Bichon 