[Ami Marsden]

CRASH by ELAN Wales directed by Firenza Guidi was an incredible immersive experience around the grounds of a Welsh medieval house and gardens.
The audience was invited to walk around the spaces experiencing different live installations of performers, musicians, circus works and sound recordings, all lit up as night began to fall. There didn’t seem to be a clear ‘story’ per say, but the narrative of each thing you experienced was quite profound and beautiful in itself. The description of the piece read: “At the bottom of the lake there are hard stones. Everything you throw in there turns to stone. What were these things before? Animate or inanimate? Shoes or uniforms or people? Thoughts, or mud-cities buried underground?”

As you walked around the site, guided by a steward, the audience were able to experience performances from different aspects, whether it was when passing a small, enclosed space or looking down over a pond from the top of a walled garden. At one point, you realised that the music that you were listening to was actually being performed by a live band sat under a large tree in the garden. The dramaturgy made great use of the varying spaces around the gardens from performers in old aviary cages, someone rising from the water in the pond to dance with a chair on an island, actors singing and telling stories whilst skipping through the manicured gardens and audience members. Your focus was managed well throughout the journey and the audience was left to wander independently after the tour to appreciate other more static installations.
Some things were amplified using mics, but others were not which changed your relationship with the performer accordingly. Lighting drew your attention to various things in the distance too, controlling the focus of the audience.

A review of the performance:
http://www.theatre-wales.co.uk/reviews/reviews_details.asp?reviewID=1402

A few images of the piece in Aberglasney Gardens (amongst other shots inside a big top)
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/firenza-guidi.html

[Ami Marsden]

A beach or foreshore: this is a public space as anybody is allowed to freely use the space in their own time. There are no confines to this space and people can spend as long as they wish on their own or in groups and gatherings.
A city centre: this public space is often only open to pedestrians during the day, but the use and restrictions can change after certain times. There are codes of conduct to be had in such spaces, but people are free to wander, interact and use the space in various ways.

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