In Crimson

In Crimson is an immersive, promenade style contemporary dance piece presented as a collaboration and creative partnership between creative director Natalie Allan, and the HotHouse Company - an initiative of All Saints College.

The HotHouse Company is a project that offers All Saints’ College and the wider community an engaging, innovative, inter-disciplinary and sustainable holistic arts program, linking with partners in the arts industry. This piece, the third presented by Natalie Allan on college grounds, reimagines flagship building, Building 8, into an immersive dance theatre space, which the audience move through, meaning that every audience member experiences the production in a different way, catching different glimpses of the piece.

Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s story ‘The Masque of the Red Death’, In Crimson looks at the effect of the Covid 19 virus and how a pandemic has a destabilising effect - both causing disconnect and a desire to connect. The set recreates the building as a medieval castle (although I am not sure that this would be clear without research) - and the set, designed by All Saints’ Year 5 students in collaboration with Natalie Allan, Brock Preston and Tracey Shaw features some 300 masks created by the young designers.

The performers in the company work well as a team, moving in and out of numerous storylines, as well as moving the audience around the building in order to maximise their experience. Strong dance skills and great teamwork from Estelle Brown, Gabrielle De Vriese, Keely Geier, Allain Gumapon, Isabelle Leclezio, Natassija Morrow, Brent Rollins, Ada Sayasane, Nathan Turtur and Lucy Wong.

The dancers perform in dozens of spaces to a strong and sometimes unsettling composition by composer and sound designer Parvan Hari- Kumar.

A huge amount of work in this unusual and thoughtful piece. A great experience for lovers of contemporary dance and those who like their theatrical experience active and immersive.

Kimberley Shaw