Five Reasons To See … Consumed
Border Crossings’ latest show Consumed opens at Tara Arts tomorrow (20 February), bringing together technology and heartbreak in a story that is both personal and global. It runs at Tara Arts until 23 February before touring the UK until 23 March.
Here the company give us five reasons to see the show…
A 21st century love triangle
Consumed has a great story, centring on love, sex, money…. and IT. Think of it as Cyrano de Bergerac for the age of the internet, set among the fashionable, rich, cosmopolitan world of contemporary Shanghai. There are secrets and conspiracies, sexual liaisons and industrial espionage. The three characters all go on intriguing, disturbing journeys, where they are forced to confront uncomfortable truths, lost and forgotten histories.
Extraordinary multimedia
Consumed is visually stunning. Dori Deng, our video artist, melds film, internet and live cameras to create an ever-changing, gloriously atmospheric environment. The mood shifts constantly – from the comedy of mis-understanding to late-night urban blues, from the mesmerising growth of a relationship online to edgy thriller.
Two languages for the price of one
Consumed finds a new way to deal with theatre in more than one language. A play with dialogue in Chinese might sound daunting – but in fact the whole show is clear and easy to follow. People in the audience who speak different languages will find different points of contact among the characters, so there’s a dynamic energy in the audience reflecting that on stage – but at the same time translation is built in to the production, often in very surprising, entertaining ways! The play is full of music, and the languages are part of that soundscape, stirring our emotions more than our minds.
A new China on stage
Consumed brings a new approach to China onto the English stage. By collaborating with China’s leading contemporary theatre, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, Border Crossings has been able to address the energised, forward-looking country which is set to be the great power of the present century. This is not the sampans and fans China of tourist theatre, but the complex and intense civilization of the present day. The collaboration has also brought two of China’s leading actors to Britain: it’s a rare chance for audiences here to see the extraordinary talents of Song Ru Hui and Ning Li – both of whom have won national awards for their acting in the world’s biggest country.
It’s in safe hands…
Consumed is a Border Crossings show! This year the company is eighteen years old, and over that time it has consistently garnered great reviews for its innovative intercultural collaborations all over the world. Re-Orientations, the previous collaboration with Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, was described as “impressive, bold in ambition and fluid” by the Guardian, while Londonist said it was “a deeply felt, powerfully performed, beautifully staged production”. Time Out called The Dilemma of a Ghost “Marvellous… an evening that resonates”, and Metro said it was “by turns hilarious, touching, and thoroughly terrifying”. The new production promises to be all of that and more.
