Synopsis One-on-one theatre describes an increasingly popular genre of work that takes place between one artist and one audience member at a time. Often the work questions and transgresses the boundaries between audience and performer in the most personal and intimate way, leading to truly unique experiences that invite us to question the ways in which we interact with others. For the first time ever BAC brings together seminal works from around the world with new commissions from leading artists in the field: performances from the tender and heartfelt to the downright scary.
The One-on-One Festival is all about you. In every nook and cranny at the Battersea Arts Centre, performances are happening with only you in mind, intimate experiences for an audience of one. It sounds like a daunting prospect, to be the centre of so much artistic attention, but it’s not at all. It’s a warm environment where you are constantly taken care of and cradled (in some cases literally); there’s nothing to be scared of here.
I get emotionally sucker punched right from the beginning with the incomparable Smile Off Your Face by Ontroerend Goed. Experienced for the most part in complete darkness, your senses are pricked and your emotions teased into extreme reactions ranging from joy to, in my case, tears. You feel soft hands and smell musky cologne which lingers with you for hours, and when you are allowed to see, the beauty and wit of the imagery is blinding. It may sound like hyperbole, but this transcendent piece more than lives up to the buzz surrounding it.
Next up is poor old It’s Your Film by Stan’s Café, which doesn’t stand a chance after the therapy I’ve just been through. But it’s a clever concept, a film performed just for you, and neatly done if a little slight. Natalie L’Herroux sweetly invites me to clamber through a wardrobe in the aptly named Through The Wardrobe, and I crawl through a tiny door into a room crammed with clothes. She sprays me with scent and we play dress up. I get to borrow the pretty pink scarf she feels suits me for the rest of the day; it’s a simple but magical moment.
You Me Nothing, Franko B’s airy, minimalist installation, allows me to kick off my shoes and have some much needed space for reflection. Unless you allow yourself time around each of these potent encounters to recover some equilibrium, the stains of the previous show impact on the next.
Onto A Little Bit of a Beautiful Thing, where the history of a gnarled beam of oak is charmingly explained to me by Barnaby Stone. You get to take a little bit of it with you and I’m going to be framing mine.
Before I know it I’m doing karaoke with some actually pretty tuneful soldiers in Quarantine’s deeply enjoyable, The Soldier’s Song, and speaking for one minute to a very cheerful Ed Rapley.I end the day by making a written vow in King's of England's I Vow to Thee My Country. It’s a great way to finish because it feels, as this whole festival does, like an important and vital thing to do.
I really loved the festival, and even if every performance may not have been as much as it could have been, I really felt that I had been down the rabbit hole for 3 hours in a way that you rarely get in a normal perfomance. Ontroerend Goed's A Game Of You was so clever, and really made the player (you) think about themselves and others. First Person Plural by Step off the Stage was really good fun, though being a stalker was almost as unsettling as being stalked I think.
Brilliant - there should be more interactive theatre experiences like this - Jess Brown
17 Jul 10
Brilliant concept for a festival. Great festival atmosphere for a start - performers, staff and volunteers running around all over the place, felt quite left out being a mere paying punter.
But the advantage of being a paying punter is being able to see all the shows. "Through the Wardrobe" was too hurried - I would have liked double the time in the space and time to explore a bit. The thrill of waiting for the knock and going through the door for the first time wasn't quite maintained throughout. "You Me Nothing" is one of those installations where you just need to let your imagination run free. I managed to free my mind - with an effort - and ended up working myself up into a state where I was too nervous to do the most obvious thing you would do in the situation. I left happy. "Internal" was worth the hype. Spending ten minutes with a person whose face you have wondered about for three years is pretty special; having seen "The Smile Off Your Face" in 2007, I was lucky enough that my date for the evening (well, show) was that girl. They manage to tap into your on vulnerabilities in minutes, and create a magic illusion of special bonds and connections. It's the same illusion that prostitution is built on. "Drag Mountain" was lightweight but minor fun, after which I managed to get my hands on entry to several more shows. A quick dash out to the pub to check the World Cup score, then dash back to see "A Little Bit Of A Beautiful Thing" which was very sweet. The heavy hitters came last: "Rendez-Vous", which really opens up your fears although it might not be what you expect; and "Rotating In A Room Of Images" which was downright creepy and utterly brilliant. - Eoghan O'Neill
Whatsonstage.com - Discount London theatre tickets, theatre news and reviews, Theatre videos, Theatre discussion, National Theatre Listings. Covering London's West End, all of Theatreland and all UK theatre. The best
for London Theatre Ticket Discounts.
