So I arrive at the Carriage Works and I am rushing up the stairs and trip. The entire contents of my bag splays out in front of me and my mobile plummets through a gap in the stairs landing about 3 foot below. It is miraculously unscathed. After retrieving it and other items I hurry into the theatre and am ushered into my seat. A few people glance at me and I look down at my lap in mild shame. The latecomer. In front of me are two performers in stark lighting looking somewhat crazy. They are talking about numbers and rules, and moving in fitful bursts around the stage. It’s a little surreal and so begins my Eden experience.
I found Eden to be a strongly physical piece with a narrative told mostly through movement and music, which I very much enjoyed. It’s somewhat of an Orwellian world that sees these two compelling characters struggling to survive as they are stripped of their identities by a harsh state. The soundtrack had me gripped, it was the strings that controlled and manipulated the people. It created an intense narrative that jumped back and forth in time in flash sequences. A futuristic dehumanised existence reminiscent of both George Orwell’s 1984 and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. What I loved about this was the physicality of the performers which was very engaging. The distinctive guzzling motion as they were force fed drugs to correct their behaviour, the movement sequences that represented their monotonous and pointless existence. Their manic expressions as they desperately danced to wartime songs.They showed us a place devoid of beauty and wonder where the people were basically stripped of their dignity, then chastised for having negative thought patterns. Well wouldn’t you feel a bit depressed if you lost your job, home and partner, and had a serial number tattooed to your foot?
Ultimately, Eden reminded me of the fragility of life and that any one of us could become a ‘marginalised’ statistic as a result of a relatively small change of circumstance. In 2013, 3.9 million people were classed as ‘at risk’, being just one paycheck away from becoming homeless. In 2012-13 there was a 6% rise in homelessness across the UK, and 19% rise in London, which indicates we are moving in the wrong direction. I wouldn’t be surprised if the introduction of the new bedroom tax could have those percentages rise further, though I would love to be wrong about that. So the question is, are we going to do to anything to make this better?
Eden by Displace Yourself Theatre took place at the Carriage Works in Leeds. Photographs of Jennifer Nevin and Mike Auger.
