When The World Turns is a multisensory experience performed within a living performance space. Audience members are welcomed in small groups into a circle of plants and gentle lights, under a canopy. There is a soundtrack that underscores the whole experience, which is not a story per se, and does not include text, but rather focusses on attention to all of the other modes of communication — sound, touch, song, breath, and beyond. The production is visually sumptuous, with scents and things to touch, and most notably, the performers focus on a handful of audience members, allowing them the space and time to interact with the performance on their own terms and in their own time.
Sound plays an integral role; with the aforementioned underlying soundtrack, sounds emerge from different areas and speakers that are placed around the circe, and at times move, with ingenious use of fishing rod style capacity to raise and lower, and then also through the performers themselves — and at times the audience. It is immensely playful and surprising for the audience, with sounds coming from everywhere. This could result in feeling overwhelming however the gentle care with which this is done make it peaceful, even in moments of tension. Animals are created from objects you would find around any house, lending that sense of play and creating the feeling you could re-create this in your own imagination at home — I couldn’t help but think of the audience wanting to return home and recreate the elephant with a bit of tube, or the lightning bugs with tiny flashlights.
The result is an experience that encourages us to slow down, look, and listen — and simply breathe along with the plants beside us. What is truly remarkable is the way that access is woven into the production at every turn; it never feels like an afterthought or an add on, but instead it is at the core of the creation. Creating this space for individuals is of course incredible for the target audience - under 12’s of all abilities — but you could see the delight and surprise of their adult caregivers, and even of those of us observing from outside the circle. It is theatre which is intentionally slow and deeply thoughtful, almost meditative; you emerge from the hour filled with a comfortable joy and appreciation for simply being.
I found myself as an outside observer wanting to be inside the circle; for me this is the mark of a production that is hitting the mark. I’m not the target audience and yet wanted to be embedded in it.