Short and Sweet- Manipulate Festival 2022.

Credit: Darren Evans.

Yesterday evening, I was at the Manipulate Festival to attend a performance of Short and Sweet by the company Thick and Tight which was playing at Capital Theatre’s The Studio.

Thick and Tight are a dance theatre company who make work inspired by historical, political and artistic subjects using conventions such as dance, drag and drama. The company was founded in 2012 by Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry.

Short and Sweet is a variety show comprised of 7 works in normal circumstances but unfortunately, we did not get one of the acts due to a cast member being unable to perform. This variety show was created by the founders of the company.

The first performance was Two Moths in Real Time which was performed by Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry. The piece was inspired by Japanese Noh theatre. This performance was very intricate and precise when it came to the movement. There was a range of sounds and different music used in this performance.

Sid Vicious was next up on the program and Connor Scott did not disappoint. He was utterly intoxicating to watch. His lip synching was perfect and the fluidity in his movement was sublime. He made his movements look effortless. Scott had the audience in the palm of his hand and we simply could not take our eyes off him.

Azara Meghie and her Finding Grace performance was great fun. Azara was strong and powerful and very likeable. I enjoyed the contrast between her speeches which were directed to the audience and her dances which were undercut with voice recordings of Grace Jones. The various conventions used within the performance worked really well together.

Next up, there was a wonderful film shown which was in collaboration with Corali Dance Company and Camberwell Incredibles, in a piece about the poet Edith Sitwell. This included the performers all sporting a wig which resembled Sitwell’s. This performance was enjoyable it was so nice to see a diverse range of performers.

Oxana Panchenko’s performance as Rasputin was riveting. The piece in itself was a juxtaposition, as it started with Oxana centre stage and executing these beautiful and balletic steps and at the back of the stage you could see her shadow on the curtain. But then after this section there was change and Ra Ra Rasputin started to play and the ballet was undercut with disco style dancing.

The final performance of the evening was John Cage and Elaine Paige. This was performed again by Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry and it was ingenious. The performers were dressed in matching outfits and sparkly gold high heels and lip synched to both voice recordings of Cage and Paige and also some of Paige’s iconic hits. From start to end the piece had everyone laughing and smiling from ear to ear. The way in which the performers swapped so seamlessly from each character and how fully they embodied them was very impressive.

Overall Short and Sweet is must see. There is most definitely something for everyone in this phenomenal variety show and I would highly recommend it. There are still more shows to see at the Manipulate Festival which is running until the 5th of February.