Yourseven | PICA | Until 17th February | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Yourseven is one of those shows where the less you know about it before you go in, the better the experience will be. So I’m not going to tell you anything about what happens between entering and leaving the auditorium, but I will tell you how it felt.
Sitting quietly in the foyer of the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts I felt very nervous about the experience I was about to undertake.
Presented by the Western Australian Youth Theatre Company Yourseven is a one-on-one performance experience. I’d be the only audience member, alone. While some fringe shows end up with more people on stage than in the audience, on this occasion it would be intentional, the show is designed this way.
An attendant explained that there would be no talking during the entire performance, I’d be wearing a headset playing sounds, and if at anytime I felt uncomfortable I could ask for the experience to be stopped.
The door to the auditorium swings open, I’m lead my torchlight to a small hessian cover cubicle, a girl appears and asks me to put on some headphones, an iPod is hung around my neck, Elizabethan music plays, and my journey begins.
After the experience was over, my mind was racing, I was thinking about my career, my childhood, decisions I’d made in life, questioning who my real friends were, I felt sorrow for friends and family I’ve lost, and I was possessed by an overwhelming need to achieve and make a mark on the world.
Statistically if I’d be born in Elizabethan times, at 45 I’d probably be dead by now. I’m living on extra time, and there’s no time to waste. As Socrates said, the sand is passing through the hourglass.
The Western Australian Youth Theatre Company have a track record of delivering high quality productions that are filled with originality and innovation. Under the guidance of newly appointed Artistic Director James Berlyn they’ve once again created something very special.
Berlyn, who has a background in dance, acting and exceptionally creative productions, was one of the architects of Perth’s Proximity Festival, which focuses on intimate one-on-one performances. Here he takes that concept and rolls it out on a much larger tapestry.
It’s a great creative choice because while it creates a moving, personal experience for the audience, it also allows individual performers a moment to shine.
Be brave, challenge yourself to see this show, it’s a magical experience.
Book a spot to experience Yourseven via Fringe World.
Graeme Watson
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