By Leah Russon Watkins
Entering FisherGate Point on November 17th, the warm atmosphere enveloped me. The mixture of ambient music, gentle chatter, and atmospheric lighting instantly made it clear that everyone felt at ease, a slight buzz of excitement thriving through the room. Chairs lined the walls, surrounding the centre of the room like an amphitheatre, it was unlike any poetry event I have ever attended.
Short videos of various electronic items played on the large screen creating the backdrop, a kettle boiling, an iron ironing, a hoover hoovering. All simple everyday items which many of us take for granted. Actors dotted around the room, already in character and ready to perform. Banging on the wall, answering a phone call. Suddenly a harmonic voice filled the room, singing a beautiful song, everyone looked around, searching for the person creating this wonderful noise.
This experience was well and truly immersive, each character drawing you in with their unique form of expression. While each story was performed in snippets, each scene advanced on a diverse story of experiences within powerless Nottingham. These narratives took us through the events of a power-cut, the backdrop altering from electronics to darkness just as the individuals of the performance were experiencing.
During each performance the audience was clearly enthralled, barely a whisper being uttered between anyone’s lips. While some scenes were easier to watch than others, only due to the shape of the room, people could be seen stretching their necks as to not miss a second of the enticing experience which they felt apart of. Lighting drew your eyes to the next instalment of the story, ensuring that the scene was set, mimicking the glow of candlelight, lighters, and more.
This emotion was felt and formed through every experience, entirely different but united through a single feeling
The feeling of powerlessness, as described through one section of the performance, was felt through each performers segment. This emotion was felt and formed through every experience, entirely different but united through a single feeling. The mixture of these individual interpretations definitely aided this event, allowing each member of the audience to relate to the performance in their own, personal ways.
You aren’t powerless, you just need to utilise the power given to you.
‘Power cut’ encapsulated the feelings of individual experiences, demonstrating ways in which isolated events can be improved, if only you share them with others. A large takeaway from this event was how communication can do nothing but improve relationships, humanity being bigger and better with the support of your community. You aren’t powerless, you just need to utilise the power given to you. I cannot wait to see what this group, ‘Poets Off The Endz’, creates next, their renewed approach to storytelling being as capturing as ever before.
By Leah Russon Watkins
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @poets_off_the_endz via Instagram.com. No changes were made to this image.
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