Durham Fringe Festival 2024
Abundance
Lizzie Klotz
Genre: Physical Theatre
Venue: Fonteyn Ballroom @ Dunelm House Durham
Festival: Durham Fringe Festival
Low Down
“Abundance is an intergenerational dance work made with and performed by a cast of professional and non-professional performers aged 15 – 75 years old.” Combining physical theatre and movement with a prominent and often commanding sound track, this effective and very creative production “considers how we feel about abundance and how it feels to be abundant. It’s about joy, freedom, age, family, reflection, opportunity, guilt and sharing. It’s about having just enough but not too much. Plenty.”
Review
This intergenerational dance work, performed by a diverse cast of professional and non-professional dancers aged 15 to 75, explores themes of abundance and the feelings it evokes. The piece captures the essence of having just enough without excess. When is enoug, enough? What if we do not need to rush to grasp, caught in the struggle of being unsatisfied? This is explored with physicality that finds a successful balance between noise and silence, between rushing and being at ease with where one stands in the world. Sometimes this realisation of sufficiency cannot be realised alone but is a social process, often finally realised when we are older.
One of the standout features of the performance is its stillness, with a pacing that impressively roots itself in patience, allowing each set piece to emerge in its own time. The choreography effectively captures the ethereal passing and rhythm of time, creating moments of poignant beauty. The ending is sturring, resolving and beautiful. The audience contained many family friends, but I was neither of these and casting the more detached and external eye of the reviewer, my heart was stirred by Abundance.
There are instances where the piece’s intentions could be visually clearer, leaving some of its thematic explorations feeling underdeveloped. Despite this, the ensemble movement, slectromic music and sound, voice, and more individual parts achieve a satisfying synergy, navigating its themes with a cohesive blend of elements. The evocative electronic music soundscape provides a backdrop, linkage, and continuity, but also stands out in its own right.
Occasionally, the performance feels overly devised, but it largely succeeds in conveying its purpose. The concept of “enough” emerges naturally as the piece finds its balance. The few naturalistic, verbatim theatre spoken word segments add depth and authenticity to the work, creating a connection with the audience.
With 11 performers on stage, the collective creation of physical tableaux is visually striking, and the choreography is deeply affecting. The performance raises important questions and captures a unique mood What is enough? What is more than enough? We can have enough for ourselves, and we can be enought for others. These reflections resonate throughout, inviting the audience to ponder their own perceptions of abundance.
The integration of old and young performers brings a refreshing dynamic to the piece, showcasing the potential for intergenerational work not just at the fringe but in the arts more broadly. There are indications that the emerging generation, alongside the one that follows, is fostering a remix of old and young, opening up numerous creative opportunities. Intergenerational work has often existed at the grassroots level, such as in street theatre inspired by Augusto Boal’s work, and it is heartening to see it gaining more visibility here at Durham Fringe.
In summary, this daring intergenerational dance work is a well-crafted exploration of abundance and its emotional landscape. While it has moments that could be more visually explicit, its overall impact is profound, making a compelling case for more intergenerational collaborations in the arts.
