Dance reviews: Tamsyn Russell | Marc Brew

THAT Marc Brew is a sensitive, intelligent choreographer, and compelling performer is increasingly a matter of fact.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jun 2015, 01:00 BST
Marc Brew, lying beneath an enormous white sheet, reminiscent of the hospital bed he spent months in after a car crash. picture: ContributedMarc Brew, lying beneath an enormous white sheet, reminiscent of the hospital bed he spent months in after a car crash. picture: Contributed
Marc Brew, lying beneath an enormous white sheet, reminiscent of the hospital bed he spent months in after a car crash. picture: Contributed

Marc Brew : For No, I am

****

Tamsyn Russell : Purging Suite #1

***

Tramway, Glasgow

Less appreciated, maybe, is his ability to bring together great partnerships. Ironically, despite For Now, I am being Brew’s most personal work to date, his new solo proved that more than ever.

Lying beneath an enormous white sheet, reminiscent of the hospital bed Brew spent months in following a life-altering car crash in 1997, his body is motionless for a considerable time. What sustains us, is Andy Hamer’s lighting design, Claire McCue’s original score and Jamie Wardrop’s projected visuals – all of which deserve a name check every bit as much as Brew.

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When he emerges from the material, there is a sense of him being re-born – given another chance at life, albeit with a body that operates differently from before.

Fingers, hands, arms, chest are checked to see how they move, what they can still do. All of which Brew went through in real life, adding an inescapable layer of poignancy to this work – but his choreography, execution and staging stand alone in their own right, regardless of the biographical backstory.

Tamsyn Russell’s brief solo also dealt with re-birth, but of an alternate kind. Inspired by an 18th century American Quaker who miraculously survived Typhoid, the piece featured some dramatic imagery and, if part of a longer work, would have much to offer.

KELLY APTER