Like desperate understudies surrounded by the fragments of a huge shattered glitter-ball, five performers present the musical Carousel barefoot, on a floor of over two hundred mirrors. Re-tracing the dance steps, singing at inappropriate moments, and taking the acting far too seriously, they play the kind of dangerous games that anyone would if they were waiting for a call that was never going to come.
Pared down to the bone, stripped to its essentials, round-about re-discovers ‘Carousel’ as an incisive and dynamic statement on contemporary life and the possibilities of theatre. Gone is the frivolous optimism, the excessive sentiment and the trappings of Americana – this kind of escapism is a serious business, and let no one forget it.
- Niki Woods
- Anna Wilson
- Russell Armstrong
- Mike Farrimond
- Noel Byrne
Original soundtrack by Spencer Marsden
Directed by Neil Mackenzie
Supported by Arts Council England, Manchester Metropolitan University and Zion Arts Centre, Manchester
A video of round-about is available on the Lanwest.org website. Article on Plane Performance by Jane Turner, published in New Theatre Quarterly.
