DANCE show ‘Give Me A Reason To Live’ arrived at The Lowry this week. Quays News entertainment reporter Ellen Ward went along…
This piece was one of the most challenging things the audience has ever seen, yet I felt something was missing.
Give Me A Reason To Live is a dance symbolising the struggle someone goes through who has a disability. Claire Cunningham was one of the utmost talented individuals I have had the pleasure of watching on stage, who showed the struggle through extravagant movements while relying on her crutches.
Cunningham is one of the most applauded disabled artists in the UK and was the chorographer of this piece. She was a solo performer and the piece lasted only 37 minutes, which in my opinion was too short. The dance was slow and at times it was hard to decide whether this was a good thing or not.
It left no room for a shocking response since at the beginning of the performance she was in the corner with her back to the audience for about 15 minutes. If the piece was longer this would have been suitable but however Cunningham still presented the struggle clearly for the audience to understand her battle within herself.
As a result of the piece being so slow the audience didn’t react when it was finished, believing it was another pause for affect but in a way it was as if we didn’t want to break the atmosphere the performer had created. We were all left awe of the new light that was shown to us.
One of the most impressionable moments in the play was when she was flailing her arm in the air frantically while unable to move her body. The crutch moved simultaneously sending a heavy reminder to her that everyone sees the disability, not her.
The singing came as a surprise and I loved it. The talent was undoubtedly clear and fitted well with the haunting music playing in the background. It was a slow opera song and brought the play together.
At the end of the play she is at front of the stage staring at the audience while undressing herself. She stands proudly but shakily at the world declaring to everyone that this is who she is and through the pain she has survived. It was a wonderful moment yet quite intimidating in a unique way.
This play easily stats that you should never judge a book by its cover and no other way could have explained it better.
By Ellen Ward
@hypermeerkat1
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