Wednesday 30th September until Sunday 11th October 2009 @ The Tobacco Factory Brewery, Bristol

21:13 follows the story of an English boy and an Italian girl as they share an overnight wait at a deserted train station. Any attempts at communication between the pair are thwarted as neither can speak the other’s language but they soon find new ways of communicating that go beyond words and embody the beauty of a shared humanity.

It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced in our lives and can empathise with and Milton Keynes-based theatre company Dancing Brick manage to encompass the frustration of a language barrier but also the enjoyment of bonding with someone at a simpler, base level perfectly.

In between these engaging and often hilarious scenes we cut away to dramatic, abstract set-pieces and the performance takes on a whole new level. Each dream sequence is deliciously conceptual, full of subtle metaphor and the questions raised within them are left hanging, open to every individual’s own interpretations: Perhaps they are physical embodiments of the pair stepping out of the realm of language to be able to communicate more intimately and powerfully than simple words could express? Perhaps we are been transported to another lifetime where the awkward pair at the train station can truly be together? The cutaways gel superbly within the context of the show and themselves are often poignant, funny, charming and breathtaking in their beauty: The stunning scene of the two silently and abstractly playing catch will live with me for a long time.

Perhaps what makes the show so powerful, emotive and absorbing is the sheer simplicity of the set-up – 2 actors, minimal set, minimal props and minimal effects – and the way they use them so imaginatively on stage with some beautiful choreography.

The introduction before the real performance begins is interesting but jars a little with the rest of the show and apart from another point when one of the actors pointlessly engages with the audience and briefly shatters the magic they worked so hard to create, the show is a triumph. 21:13 is a brilliant piece of raw theatre and anyone who watches will engage and empathise with the characters so much that they feel giddy afterwards.

www.dancingbrick.net

Matthew Whittle www.matthewwhittleblog.blogspot.com