Ockham’s Razor: Collaborator review
Artistic directors of Ockham’s Razor return to the stage for an intimate, moving duet
Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney met and fell in love at circus school in Bristol 24 years ago. They initially pledged, Mooney tells us at the start of Collaborator, never to work together. That didn’t quite work out – their company, Ockham’s Razor, has gone on to set a gold standard for blending modern circus and theatre and to achieve international success.
This intimate, concise and very personal piece was sparked by someone asking Harvey and Mooney whether they’d retired from performing, given that they had stepped back to take on directing duties some time ago. They both realised that, without making a conscious decision about it, they hadn’t touched a piece of circus equipment in years. So Collaborator, part of the MimeLondon season, was born of their need to challenge themselves once more (it took them a year of training to get strong enough to do it), and maybe mark the end of their performing lives.
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It starts with them jumping to hang on a suspended frame, then climbing up into it to awkwardly negotiate a duet of balances. A kind of game of Twister in mid-air ensues, as legs entangle, hands reach for the nearest bar, feet end up in faces. But out of this seeming muddle peeks the pair’s deep understanding of their craft and of each other’s bodies.
Mooney breaks off to tell us about constructive and destructive interference – how two overlapping waves can reinforce each other’s energy or cancel each other out. Later, there’s more physics – a set of gold-lit pendulums is let loose to swing freely, slowly falling into abstract patterns, and Harvey explains the principle behind a coupled pendulum (how they share their energy so both can keep going). Meanwhile, with lots of swapping in and out of clothes from a messy on-stage pile, the couple present little vignettes representing their highs and lows.
They run together on the spot, at first cheerfully in sync, then pulling in opposite directions, then keeping each other going, finally dragging each other along the floor. “The dark days” are depicted as a quest-like struggle, with the pair creeping like cavers into a shadowy unknown and doing sword-wielding battle with invisible monsters.
Finally, beautifully, they take to the frame again, to show “all the days that we will miss”. Now their lyrical prowess on the trapeze – their first love – takes flight, and it’s all the more beautiful because they are no longer lithe 20-somethings. They twist together, hinging around each other in that cramped dangling space and displaying a perfect alignment of confidence and trust. Mooney is often wholly held off the frame, sometimes by nothing more than Harvey’s flexed feet – their fluid chains of movement and arcing backbends are transfixing. If this is their farewell to performing, I’m not sure they could have said it better.
For full touring dates, visit: ockhamsrazor.co.uk
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