LIVES is a dynamic multimedia drama grappling with the themes of love, greed, loss and accountability; a courtroom drama wherein the audience are treated as the jury.
The show begun, and the lights dim revealing a spotlight as a woman adorned in fur walks slowly down the steps between the audience. She steps upon a box in centre stage, delivering a haunting monologue about motherhood before ending with the declaration of having to ‘kill them all’.
Loud booms transpire as the actors leave the stage, a tonal shift as a scene ensues between two characters discussing romantic affairs. The conversation is repeatedly interrupted with shouts of ‘Objection!’ and ‘How is this relevant, your honour?’ much to the audience’s confusion.
Throughout the performance, the production comes across as thought provoking and poignant – with audiences able to witness two performances at the Lowry Theatre on February 6 and 7.
The performance was produced by Sixth House, a multidisciplinary artist collective as their very first production.
The show follows the consequences and accountability of humanity’s overconsumption, posing both a defence of growth and human development, and a condemnation of greed resulting in the destruction of earth.
Despite its bleak premise, the show balances this well with flourishes of witty humour and thoughtful audience inclusion, such as a musical number towards the end which repeats the phrase ‘You’re all going to die’ paired with a stiff and smiling choreography.
The humour is sharp and cuts through the overwhelming sadness, and there is a chemistry and elegance with the actors’ performances that can be attributed to the choreography and intimate stage setting.
For instance the opening where the actors create a striking scene clawing to caress and hold a woman as she makes her opening statement.
Movement direction here can be accredited to actor Samuel Tracy, whose performance was a particular standout, who perfectly creates a portrayal of AI through the use of robotic body language and a vacant stare, often seen to the side appearing as though downloading information.
The decision to force the weight of jury duty upon the audience is key to what makes everything work so well.
Lines are blurred enough that they also become the defendant, weighing over the consequences of their own actions as they realise: this show is actually about them.
There is a feeling of reflection and retrospect over the most beautiful aspects of humanity that are pitted against the consequences of industry: man vs man-made.
With minimal prop use, the ones that do appear are handmade using materials obviously recyclable, such as paper and cardboard.
One particular example was a looming paper mache judge adorned with a top hat and piercing red eyes who appears from behind a curtain to scold the courtroom over its lack of focus. In linking to the themes presented, this was a small detail which did not go unappreciated.
The show, LIVES, was written by performers Chloe Wade, Gabriel Clark and Samuel Tracy, with the Sixth house being founded as part of a new artist development programme, Hothouse, from Lowry.
The group was produced in order to create more opportunities for regional theatre artists to collaborate and connect.
The performers boast a long list of achievements in the industry, with Pui-ka Cheng having provided Cantonese voice-over work for companies such as Disney and Netflix, or Dan Willis, who has produced original music for over 20 productions.
Throughout LIVES, the diverse portrayals including queer romance also being depicted, the dialogue and writing makes LIVES feel like a fresh take on a reality earth has been exposed to since the conversation around climate change began.
It is a difficult feat to make such topics still engaging to a large majority of the population due to overexposure, but there is an earnesty in the representation of real life people.
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