A beautiful new dance musical with live songs performed by Eloise Davies and Bluey Robinson (as Emma and Jack), to a lush score from Sam Cassidy and choreography by Ainsley Ricketts.
Wait for Me is a new British musical which exudes heart and soul, and like many other shows created during these troubled times, has the sensation of touch at its heart. The small moments and the large ones. The life changing times and the monutes we quickly forget.
Best experienced using headphones to hear every nuancd of the piece, this proves a feast for the eyes and ears in just under fifty minutes.
I found myself sinking into the melodies and enjoying the sometimes impish, sometimes intense athleticism of the dancers: all of life, loss, and eternal love is here and with a cast and crew safely bubbled together, they can get up close and personal.
Fugures watch, locked behind barriers, or huddled in corners, as the action unfolds and he meets she, with the joy of finding a close bond of friendship. Cassidy builds a Spectorish wall of sound to develop the story and characters.
With Nick Ross joining the team as cinematographer, this show pulls the viewer in and out from the action as required: this is truly a piece which works best for the digital form, although clearly it could also be redeveloped for stage production.
Wait for Me is just the ticket for those who wish to fully engage with the new theatre-film hybrids we have been seeing over the past six months. It also proves that actors, dancers, creatives and crews are far more than viable occupations.
They are essential. Without pieces of art – and this mixes music, theatre, ballet, cinema, storytelling and production – the world would be a far lonelier place. The dancers here – Ricketts himself, with Jaïh Betote, Chrissy Brooke, and Clarice Lanta Lily – are excellent, and at times heartbreaking.
One moment touched me as much as Alessandra Ferri did as Juliet back in 1984 for the Royal Ballet, for sheer emotion. I should warn you now, Wait for Me will make you cry at the halfway point. Wait for it, unless you have a heart of stone.
Superb work from all involved, including Matthew Carnazza’s lighting design, Will Vaughan’s sound, and Ricketts’s direction seamlessly fusing movement and song. At times it reminded me of the Mark Morris production of Dido and Aeneas, which is of similar length and raw enotion.
Wait for Me can be purchased at £10 a ticket via Facebook.
LouReviews received complimentary access to review Wait for Me.
Image credit: Wait for Me Live Instagram.