WCT Members Attend Bistaki’s New Show in Hull • September 2017
28 Apr 2024
The collective le G Bistaki presents The Baina Trampa Fritz Fallen
WCT members were invited by Inside Out Dorset’s Co-artistic director, Bill Gee, to attend Bistaki ’s show, ‘The Baina Trampa Fritz Fallen’ performed in Hull in early September. Clare and David Small made the journey up to Hull on behalf of WCT. Clare describes the experience:
“Cirque Choregraphique d'Investigation”
A Choreographic Circus of Investigation, is how Bastaki define themselves. And this was exactly what we found them to be when we watched their performance at Hull 2017 Freedom Festival. Although, if asked beforehand, we would not have been able to guess what to expect, we knew that there would be men in white suits and that corn was heavily involved. But how this would keep us gripped, entertained and leave us pondering for hours afterwards, we could not have anticipated.
There was certainly a circus element, with mimed, gentle, humorous innuendo, slapstick antics and juggling with corn and shovels. This was well received by the audience of hundreds that followed the action around the side streets of the Guild Hall and adjoining Queens Gardens that was the venue for this unique event. Some audience members were led Pied Piper style to explore a mosaic corn maze that changed direction with hypnotic sweeping swirls. The mood switched to dark controlled aggregation between the protagonists and intense passionate salsa ballet movement and shovel juggling!
The action was moved along with innovative use of place that encouraged visual investigation and exploration of the environment.
The finale involved the volunteers in a precisely choreographed formation shovel- wielding piece and more hilarious slapstick that culminated in the “death” of Bastaki and the audience having fiesta style corn-tossing salsa fun and then being invited to help sweep it all up!,
The whole was held together with strong precise choreography that gave the performance a solid structure in which anarchic mayhem could delight and entertain in this stylish, thought-provoking piece of theatre.
One audience member on being asked what they thought at the end said, “Well, it was, just a little bit crazy?” Good comment.
Local community involvement
The community choir and actors facilitated the movement of the action through the streets in varied and unusual use of place and structure that had been well thought out. A utilitarian flat roof and large recycle bin became the venue for lobbing heavy bags of corn that required precision to result in a satisfying donging sound when the lob was successful and the sack landed in the bin. Corn was fed into a winnowing machine to spill out in a golden shower to mix with a precisely placed corn mosaic reflecting the geometric brick pavement.
A movement piece involving the volunteers using a local landmark was projected on to a wall and bags of corn adorned the street furniture, walls, and statues highlighting the way to the Gardens where the bandstand and reflective lakeside were used for mosaic and movement pieces, involving cornsack heaving and rat splatting.
