Daniel Hit by a Train

Published Monday 6 October 2008 at 13:20 by Graham Gurrin

This piece was inspired by GF Watts’s memorial of heroic deeds in the City of London. A display of ceramic plaques describing acts of selfless bravery, each of which resulted in the loss of the commemorated’s life, it was intended to uplift and stimulate Victorian England. Antoine Fraval, Guy Dartnell, Molly Haslund, Nina Tecklenburg and Paul Gazzola uncannily but deftly uplift and stimulate their 21st century audience.

Uncannily, because their narrative tells not one story, but 53. Yet by varying the styles in which they tell these 53 stories, and varying tone and timing - using not only words but also song, dance, sounds, movement and mime - they perform the impossible task of captivating the audience with what becomes as much a physical exploration of storytelling as of heroism.

They make effective use of the traverse stage, but there are no props, no costumes and precious few emotions here. But take the plaque for the eponymous Daniel Pemberton, who was “surprised by a train when gauging the line. Hurled his mate out of the tracks saving his life at the cost of his own”. They all have a blandness which Lone Twin builds upon, stripping down the narrative to short phrases that are often repeated, with or without variation. As such, the distinction between play, music and dance becomes blurred. It’s a challenging experience. Characters often ask of the audience questions such as: “Are you still here?” But what it lacks in warmth, it more than makes up for in power.