INFLIGHT FROM HOME: WAC ARTS- HAMPSTEAD TOWN HALL- 23.07.16

The sun was shining on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

My friend and I walked up to the Old Town Hall in Hampstead, iced drink in hand, looking inquisitively at the girls gearing themselves up by the wall.

Gearing up for flight

Already, a wall that would normally be dismissed had come into our periphery; it was part of the set.

I knew this performance would explore the idea of immigration and belonging, but certainly at this stage, I was trying to imagine how this could be ascertained through the aerial art form.

Whilst swirling the last drops of my iced latte, I was called into a white box area taped onto the pavement by two authorities in green boiler suits. After being asked for my personal details in the coldest of manners, I sensed the beginnings of what would be a journey into the experiences of those who had been treated as other, or perhaps as another number waiting for their fate to be decided by people who had never met them before. 

Audience registration complete. Flight begins. 

Three aerial performers rebounding off the surface of the outside wall of the town hall, solidly placing themselves into shapes that represented belonging, sometimes isolation, a quest for freedom and finally ending in a heist style escape as they ran inside, bags in hand. This was executed confidently, and was sign that the training these performers had experienced was already impressive. 

Flight begins

Upon entering audience members were given black or white cards. Aerial performs hung above us as we stepped inside to gain entry, only to be asked to go and find someone with the other colour card to allow us to enter. For a flash moment I felt quite vulnerable, searching for a stranger who would help me out. Perhaps this is how other people have had to remain in a country, by finding someone else to support them.

Entering the town hall

Find someone who has another card to enter

We were guided to the first performance space after giving our fingerprints. This echoed strongly to a migrant experience, going through processes without really knowing why we were doing them. We entered the room and on our chairs were headphones. 

Fingerprint

Headphones on

This immersive feature was a surprise, a nice surprise. My first experience as a headphone-wearing spectator was at LIFT's The Roof at the Doon Street car park by the National Theatre in 2014. I loved it. It made the performance very personal to me, like it was happening in my imagination. Thus, this was the effect it had during the rest of InFlight.

Half the audience at first were led into an experience by the performers who had little areas set up. I was left to wander and observe the table top installations which had art pieces created by people from various countries and told the story of why they were here.

Table top installation

I observed my friend as she was taken off to interact with a performer. She told me afterwards that it was with a Danish girl who was telling them about her life on a farm in the Farroe Islands. They felt the sheepskin rug, and she reminisced with them whilst they drunk warm milk and honey surrounded by candles. 

Experience with a performer from the Farroe Islands

After wondering if I was going to be left out (another emotional reference noted) I was invited to also have an experience. My experience was with a girl who was sharing her Christmas with us. We had mulled wine, shared pictures and caught a couple of minutes of Eastenders before moving on.

We were lead out and around to the next venue in a purgatory style line. Signs such as 'do not deviate' were displayed, simulating a border style queue. With the headphones still playing their personal role, my empathy was in tact, and I only needed a small amount of effort to match up my imagination to be in the shoes of another. 

This was a little taste of what it must be like for those who are seeking freedom, who want to belong somewhere else, who need to escape. The processes are strangely inhuman. I'd never thought this deeply about it before. 

In my ear, I could hear a lady saying she was stuck. Stuck in the system. 

We entered the space where the aerial performers lay on the floor, ready to bloom. Now this really was the highlight, the special moment we had been waiting for. 

After some understanding of the fact that these performers had all been on their own journey to reach the point at which they could produce such displays, some on rope, some using the silk I can truly say that the display was just breathtaking. The live drumming and eerie, ethereal singing added a dreamlike quality to the silhouettes and images.

A standout moment for me was seeing a struggling cocoon-breaking moth like movement from an artist that acted as a 'snap' card to that poignant comment from the lady about being stuck in the system, struggling, and anxious at her situation. 

The lighting was appropriate for the showcase, although some variation may have increased the silhouette image at times which I thought would have been particularly stunning.

In some ways, the performances felt like three separate installations, and I wonder if this was intended or if there could have been something that connected them more to each other?

I must congratulate WAC arts firstly on producing an emotive experience for us that other organisations do on a much bigger budget. Secondly on the demonstration of what invaluable work they do to such a high standard in providing opportunities for people to learn and access high quality arts. This display really was a testament to them. 

Any performance that invokes an emotional reaction from me and demands that I put myself in someone else's shoes is a success.

To find out more about the brilliant work that WAC arts do and to support them you can visit them here:

http://www.wacarts.co.uk