What I liked
The original music in this piece is breath-taking. The cause of promoting suicide-prevention and contributing all proceeds to anti-suicide efforts is admirable and important.
The acting in the piece was – at times – exceptionally heart-felt and honest.
What I didn't like
The space is particularly small for a piece of this scale and ambitiousness. Anabella could barely move and so the range of expression through dance felt unfortunately limited and/or irrespective of the intimacy and energy of the venue. Other dance styles or modes of expression might have been a better fit for such dark content and such a cramped space.
The balance of text and dance felt – in this reviewer’s opinion – unfortunately weighted in the direction of the text. (From the description on the website, I expected movement-based storytelling to be at the forefront of the piece and was severely disappointed by the more or less realistic and uninteresting portrayal of circumstances and characters. It felt like almost any other solo storytelling show out there, with the addition of some dance-like movement. Whereas, the opportunity – if not obligation – exists for actors with movement training like Anabella’s to innovate within the theatre, to radically re-invent the way we tell stories and restore the primacy of the body in our modern society.)
My overall impression
Absolutely beautiful music. Unfortunate space and staging.
