Something in the Air 2009

Sprout played by Tina Koch from Ockham's Razor, hangs upside down from the rig. She is holding the first and smallest red ball ready to drop. Contact Theatre, Manchester International Festival.

Design: Claire de Loon and Jens Demant Cole. 
Photo:  Nick Mackay

A show for young people with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities or an Autistic Spectrum Condition. The participants swung through the air along with the aerialists from Ockham’s Razor.

Oily Cart in collaboration with Ockham’s Razor. Commissioned by Manchester International Festival.

WONDER AND ADMIRATION 

“Something in the Air is a kinaesthetic adventure for an audience of 12 at a time. Created in collaboration with aerialists Ockham's Razor, it conjures a forest-like setting where the sound of wildlife mingles with eerie music as the cast fly through the air like exotic birds. We watch from flower-covered chairs that rise up into the air, swing, turn and bounce up and down. We feel as if we are flying, too, freed from the restraints of our bodies and gravity itself. ... 

There are characters who sing and play (in all senses of the word), but the emphasis is very much on spectacle, as leaves flutter to the ground and a strange silver creature tumbles on a rope. There is plenty to reflect on, too, not least in the slivers of mirror – rather like thin slices of moon – hanging from the roof that are then detached and used to show the children their own central place in this strange, forest world. 

The pace of the piece is meditative, but there is comedy as well: as red balls are dropped from the ceiling and bounce on the floor, their size gradually increases, and our chairs rise and fall with them. 

There is much, too, about the need to work together and the way that successful flying requires trust and support and the help of others in a show that genuinely integrates circus into the performance. “

Lyn Gardner THE GUARDIAN 

 “We brought our son Sam to the afternoon show and he loved it. Later he said he felt calm inside and had happy tears. To see him calm for that long and totally absorbed was moving and delightful for us. Also, the show was brilliantly conceived, aesthetic and showed a deep understanding of ASD.” 

PARENT FEEDBACK 

Oily Cart and Ockham's Razor present Something in the Air at the Contact Theatre Manchester, as part of the Manchester International Festival.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/3_QtmvWZaEw

A unique performance by Oily Cart & Ockham’s Razor at the Contact Theatre commissioned by Manchester International Festival.
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/MXUh4p3R8_4

Twelve egg chairs are raised into the air while musician, Arun Ghosh plays the clarinet.
Design: Claire de Loon and Jens Demant Cole.  
Photo:  Nick Mackay.