Moved Permanently

From the Fringe to Kingston, KUDOS delivers 'a slick dynamic piece of ensemble physical theatre.'

Picture the scene. You hop on the tube to work or university like you do every day, and look around the sea of faces. You see them everyday, drinking their coffee, reading their papers, chatting on their mobiles. But who are they?

You'll probably never know.

Following a critically acclaimed run of 25 performances at the Edinburgh Fringe, Face in the Crowd came to the Reg Bailey for three nights last week. This physical theatre piece (storytelling through dance and movement), created by Kingston University graduates Ben Clare and Matthew Dye, left the audience reflecting upon the cold, impersonal reality of the London rat-race.

Kingston University Drama On Stage (KUDOS) delivered a fresh, energised performance combining well constructed choreography and hilarious comedy sketches which epitomize the speed of London life. From the tube to the office, Starbucks to a French restaurant, the gym to the nightclub and on the street, we saw how millions of Londoners can be in the same place, at the same time but never cross paths.

It was easy to identify with the dozens of characters portrayed, many of which had the crowd in stitches. However, the reality of how heartless and self-involved we have become left a hard-hitting impact, underpinning the play’s key message: 'A face emerges from the crowd. The star of his own show, but just an extra in someone else's'.

By the end of a packed 45 minutes we have witnessed pregnancy, a shooting and redundancy as well as lots of dating and mating, often ending in tears.

The costumes helped keep the production fresh, from black and white office attire, bright leg-warmers in the gym and clubbing clothes. There was even a naked drunk who had has clothes stolen - I wonder how many of us can relate to that?!

The performance was neatly tied together with a modern and varied soundtrack, keeping the choreography moving with a mixture of dance tracks, jazz pieces, a well-known Killers track and familiar sounds of the city such as tube announcements and traffic noises.

Kingston University's Drama Society (KUDS) Treasurer James Paul Taylor, 20, executed the male lead brilliantly. His character was drawn from real-life, falling asleep on the tube and holding up a sign that read: "don't wake me up" to end the piece, which producer Ben Clare remembers happening in real life from his commuter experiences.

"Face in the Crowd was so much fun to do. After two months break, it was great to get back into acting. I loved every minute", James said.

The audience seemed to be equally enthusiastic and share James' passion for the play. KUDS President, Katie Verriou, 20, was very impressed.

"It was amazing", she said. "The train scenes were so realistic. Synchronizing slow-mo is really hard to do, but they did it so well in the choreography".

Given four stars by the Metro and named "a slick dynamic piece of ensemble physical theatre", Face in the Crowd was nominated for the Stage Awards best ensemble at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer and KUDOS was tipped a crowd to watch.

Face in the Crowd gets the balance between conveying an important social message and well executed dramatic comedy just right. The contemporary sound, fresh costumes and excellent choreography all help to make it a polished production that guarantees more than a few laughs. I, like James, loved every minute.

Watch this space for future performances from KUDOS. RiverOnline Entertainment will keep you posted.