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The Bruised Ecstatic Collective Space Theatre Tues 15 June until Thurs 17 June Peter Fenton, Abby Dobson, Dean Manning and David Lane are all songwriters and performers in their own right hence, I suppose, the 'collective' moniker. But besides the name and the fact that they're all on stage at the same time, their resemblance to a group united by a common purpose ends. Unless of course the common purpose is to each have a backing band for their own pre-existing songs. Not only was the concept of the show a very loose collective but a seemingly little rehearsed one. There is a certain looseness that can be achieved where improvisation can seem quite chaotic but is actually within the realms of a predefined framework. The Dirty Three, for example, are very good at this. But then there's the looseness that comes from not knowing quite when the bridge is coming or how the song ends. The Collective were most collected when they performed covers - in this at least they were working together as a group on a song. Opening with Leonard Cohen's Dance Me To The End of Love, the song was unfortunately in the wrong key for Fenton's range and so saw him burying his chin in his neck to reach the low notes and struggling to reach the uppers when changing octaves. Despite this inauspicious beginning, there were some shining moments like Dobson's I'm Not Missing You and Leonardo's Bride's Even When I'm Sleeping sung impressively in French. I Don't Care by Low Tech High Brow's Manning and Lane was also quite good. When Lane's numbers got jangly and a little bit country I did begin to reflect on my understanding of cabaret (is it enough that the audience are sitting around tables in a theatre?). Polishing issues aside, there are some touching lyrics, gentle instrumentation and opportunities for quiet reflection.  |
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