Adrena, Adrena, and the Others – The Lowry Quays Theatre.

Adrena, Adrena: Daisy Dickinson and E-da Kazuhisa

The Others: Samuel Kerridge, Taylor Burch, and Daisy Dickinson

Reviewed 29^th September on behalf of Reviews Hub

Reviewer: Matthew Forrest

3 stars

Two elements of early cinema were on display at the Quays Theatre this evening: the first being the tradition of the double feature, with two performances. The first performance was Adrena, Adrena, which was followed by The Others. The second harks back to the golden age of silent cinema, when silent films were shown with a supporting band playing the backing track.

Adrena Adrena, who comprise of visual artist Daisy Dickinson and drummer, E-da Kazuhisa. The pair are seated either side of a white sphere dangling from the ceiling, and what followed was a 40 minute blend of electronica and Kazuhisa’s pounding of the drums which combined to create an exhilarating and often disturbing wall of sound.  Various images are projected onto the sphere, from giant moths to brilliant splatters of colour. Although at some points in the performance the sphere resembled the image you get when you are having an eye tests.

Some of the images are a mixture of the beautiful and the uncomfortable, add to that the muscular and brutal sound scope. This challenging performance raised a mixture of emotions. The sound system in the Quays Theatre was tested to the limits this evening and probably won’t be as loud as this for quite some time.

Following a brief interval the stage is changed, with the sphere removed and replaced with five giant strips of fabric hanging on the ceiling. Again Daisy Dickinson is back on stage but this time with Samuel Kerridge for Jean Cocteau’s ‘Address To The Year 2000’ with a spoken work backing track by Taylor Burch. Like before, this is a series of projected images backed by an electronic soundtrack: this is a more sedate and serene performance that has no less impact but for different reasons.

The visuals as before are a mass of constructed images, but the colours are less striking more leading to a more relaxing, pleasant experience.

Tonight both productions were a bold example of creative and experimental endeavour  that stirred a range of emotions, granted it’s not for everyone – like any artistic piece of work you’ll have your own view and interpretation of it. For me the visuals were stunning and well produced in both cases, the sound track of Adrena Adrena, was at times harrowing but no less engaging, whilst the Others offered up something that was melancholic and gorgeous. A challenging night certainly but it will undoubtedly invite discussion for some time to come.