THE POPULARS
Exemplifies a more open way of being. The Scotsman
THE POPULARS
Wed 31 Jul 2019 to Sun 25 Aug 2019
The Populars – four young performers who are throwing a dance party for a divided nation. They are looking to the future and wondering how it will feel when we get there. They have questions for you, things on their minds, and a playlist of great songs that tug at the memory and the muscle fibres. Tell them what you think of the atmosphere, where you last danced your heart out, and who you reckon is the coolest.
Expect sweat, sequins, and a thoughtfully upbeat take on what unites or divides us in these uncertain times.
"Participatory forms are where it’s at. They can enable people to encounter themselves and others in new ways – not just to think of themselves as consumers of cultural products but to experiment, in fun, low-stakes ways, with forms of agency and community, and thereby try on new ways of being for size [...] the show is haunted by Brexit without directly engaging it; instead, its animated hour of humour, intimacy, vulnerability and joy exemplifies a more open way of being"
"Listening to what theatre ‘should’ be, Volcano Theatre Company promptly ignores it and dances to its own beat. This is promenade theatre at its finest."
"The Populars is about space; space filled by bodies, space left empty, space that’s yours or someone else’s, and breaking down the lines between these spaces, as well as the lines between everything else. The end result is a spectacular liminal space, where anything is possible."
"Volcano like to make theatre for people who aren't typical audiences: forceful, dynamic and visually impressive. After having a crack at Chekhov, they are going for the toughest nut to crack in a dance party about Brexit. In all of the uncertainty, this is a chance to dance away the chaos and imagine another way to be together and leap across the divides that are hemming humans into their imaginative and ideological cages."
Cast: Neal McWilliams; Elin Phillips; Mali Ann Rees, Rick Yale
Directed by Paul Davies
Movement Director: Catherine Bennett
Costume: Al Edge & Allie Saunders
Original Cast 2017: Roanna Lewis; Neal McWilliams; Elin Phillips; Rick Yale
