The World We Share

Farah Saleh and collaborators Diane Mitchell, Jack Anderson, Phoebe Knight, Jasmina, Kieran, Nala and Surya
Farah Saleh
James Arnott Theatre, Glasgow

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The World We Share Credit: Brian Hartley
The World We Share Credit: Brian Hartley
The World We Share Credit: Brian Hartley

As we enter the theatre, there is a scattergun of items upon an open stage. We are invited to be seated around the edge of the performance space; but we do not stay there over-long. On the way in, some of us get bricks and some of us are given flowers to hold, all of which become important later. What we equally get is a glimpse of our performers within the context of both multicultural wonderment and intergenerational genius.

Seeing different ethnicities on a stage in Scotland representing our country is a prideful event and one, particularly when you see young people engaged in it, that that makes me realise how much this should be permanently visible.

The setting for this and the background for it is quite inspirational. It is a wonderful opportunity to see not only people who have an adult career in theatre but also those who have engaged as young people given that this is about a look towards the future: our common future.

But for the moment, play as a process of discovery is something that, within this eclectic set, makes it even more poignant. The three adults and four children that we are watching play with an equanimity which is inspiring. You do not feel that there is an imbalance with regards to how they are being used and choreographed, but an equality in the way in which they have all been approached.

This is particularly true when it comes to the centrepiece, which is a circus pole that many of them use: one performer to go up and down and leave us with our hearts in our mouths when they slip towards the floor and stop, just in time. The younger ones also get their opportunity to use it, and there was a moment where one of the young performers went to swing round and swung too far, meaning that the person behind them had less time to perform their move on the pole. Rather than becoming upset and angry and put-out, they simply smiled, adapted and continued. It was a moment showing that they understood that good actors are able to take from performances, but great actors can share because they don't need to take. That lack of competitiveness is a creative gem.

I also enjoyed the way in which they used the shaving mirrors, which began scattered on the floor and then were used as a kind of pillar for somebody to stand on the top of. Later on, they were weapons as sodjers was played—you really have to be a certain age to remember how our parents affected our 1970s upbringing with tales of WWII… Truly reminiscent of my childhood, but resonant with the childhoods of many in Gaza and the West Bank and Lebanon and Ukraine, Southern Sudan… now.

It added to the inventiveness of the set and the performer’s interaction with it. I did laugh at the joke with Jack being in the box and literally being Jack in a box. It followed us all traversing across the stage to drop off our bricks to allow them to build a wall, which then all fell down in a one-er, which actually was perhaps the point of it: showing us the lack of permanence of barriers.

Then came Jack, clearly trying to carry too many bricks, dropping half of them and people suggesting they were worried about him because he was trying to achieve too much. It was particularly nice that it was the kids pushing that agenda and asking the questions and suggesting that they were worried. That allowed Jack to stop, sit and respond by asking for help, thus changing our perspective of how we should engage with people who need help. As a physical metaphor, it was simple and clever, engaging and obvious, thus effective.

I was entranced by the way in which many of the audience who were much younger than I expected to be there were entranced by the entire performance. Kids were engaged with something that had no story, no beginning, no middle, no end but which had them completely engaged with eyes wide with the message. Oh, and when we got up in order to move round, given that there were so many young children in the audience, I heard such language being used! I certainly heard French. I am sure there was a bit of Urdu or Punjabi in there. However, what there also was was the Kelvinside brogue and the Scots tongue. It reminded me that this was not only multi-generational but fantastically multi-appealing.

I also loved the soundscape, which was both ethnically diverse and matched perfectly what we were watching.

This was a performance that saw the best natural acting managing to convince, communicate and create an environment of question, which leaves us to think about an answer or just consider what we have seen. But it was done within the context of a radical, nonlinear poke at our future.

It came as no surprise that this was a performance that had a Palestinian managing the choreography, but also requesting support for artists who are in Gaza and the West Bank. It was an easy give to give, given that the perspective for my own country was one that my fellow Scots were asking me to consider.

Reviewer: Donald C Stewart

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