Best of VAULT Festival
Review 2015
What is the biggest lie you’ve ever told? Sounds like a strange question to ask someone but what would your answer be? Part of me want’s the freedom to be honest and say ‘When I was 10 I…’ but common sense tells me to keep my mouth shut.
Yve Blake’s 2014 show THEN was a triumph that showcased her amazing ability to look at the human condition with respect and care curating a show based on submissions by members of the public, which was no easy task. The start of her new show Lie Collector Blake illustrates this point further.
But are unique benefits to creating a show like made up from public submission. It is neither a copout or laziness but an interesting exploration of who we are, what we have done and are doing, and the lasting implications. Some of the responses Blake reads out are part of common practice – we all have done it - and yet some of the responses still take you back a bit.
There is hardly anyone in the audience who in sometime in their lives has not been lied to by their parents and new parents now pay it forward by telling ‘little white lies’ to their children. In this Blake opens up the possibility of whether lies and lying are something that is learnt behaviour.
"The participants are no longer just talking about pinching food or late academic submissions but are becoming reflective and aware of the pain, confusion and upset that they have caused."
As a performer Blake is as manic on stage as she is instantly connectable which is a trait that makes her also rather trustworthy. There is no attempt to sensationalise the stories and as the submissions start to become a quite dark and yet Blake ovoids exploiting them. Scott Quinn’s music adds depth to the show that keeps the pace and Naomi Kuyck-Cohen’s designs are best described as cleverly wacky - the detail in the costumes used for the puppets is inspired.
Lie Collector plays towards the silly and at times immature, which might very well be the essence of a lie, but then as the show goes on it begins to take on a life of its own. The participants are no longer just talking about pinching food or late academic submissions but are becoming reflective and aware of the pain, confusion and upset that they have caused.
However this remains a one sided show as to the most part the participants are anonymous. Mixed in with all the songs, music, videos and laughs are a few questions the audience are bound to be asking themselves when they leave.