A world of sensory wonder is revealed in Replay Theatre Company’s Hollow at Belfast’s The Mac as part of the city’s annual Children’s Festival.
Replay focuses on creating work for young audiences, from newborns to teenagers. In recent years, the company’s director of inclusive theatre, Andrew Stanford, has pioneered shows specifically devised for autistic and neurodivergent audiences.
Designed to be played for—and with—an audience of one, Hollow is a compact, clever, 45-minute show set in a subterranean mechanical world where the sounds of constantly whirring and clanging machines sculpt themselves into a symphony of sensations. In its deceptively relaxed and unobtrusive emphasis on engaging its sole onlooker (parents and guardians are also discreetly accommodated), it charms and entrances even as it gently stimulates.
The richly detailed set by Darren Robinson, who also provides atmospheric lighting, is framed by faux-proscenium timber platforms, distressed hessian serving as cave walls, everywhere dotted by gadgets studded with noisily cranking handles and flickering lights. The effect transforms The Mac’s intimate Factory space into an entirely immersive and persuasive environment.
Nestled at its heart is a circular, revolving sofa providing a safe haven for the young audience member from which to venture out and explore. Around it, three “living cogs”—Chris Grant, Holly Hannaway and Debra Hill realising their inner Minions with disciplined but easy-going aplomb in Susan Scott’s apt part-military, part-miners’ costumes—delicately negotiate the incremental involvement of the child with admirably sympathetic discretion.
In an entirely wordless piece—the only language is the chipmunk-like chirps of the human cogs—a plethora of props produce their own mechanistic sounds. Stanford’s specially composed soundscape—caught somewhere between the industrial clangour of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and the cartoon playfulness of electronica duo Lemon Jelly—is an artful addition. Together, they provide multiple layers of sensation to catch the attention and encourage active involvement.
Replay’s immersive work for audiences for whom a conventional theatre environment may present problems is fast becoming recognised internationally for its striking innovation. The perfectly pitched and played Hollow looks certain to cement that reputation.
After its run at The Mac, Hollow will tour to schools.