I couldn't get a really good shot of this show as I didn't want to disrupt the atmosphere with my camera, so this was taken afterwards. But this scene took place in the show too, as about 10 members of the audience joined Susan and Darren in the 'stage' in a kind of flashmob dance. Apparently, they had attended a dance workshop earlier in the day and were therefore primed but it was fun even knowing that.
The rest of the show. Susan and Darren are mother and so in real life. Darren is a dance and Susan a cleaner, from Salford. A few years ago, Darren had the idea of making a show with his mother, produced by a production company called Quarantine who work with non-performers as well as trained performers. The result is this show which is original and quirky, humorous without ebing cheesy, and touching without being sentimental. It is well-paced and well-balanced, and works on many different levels. In fact, there is a huge amount packed into this piece.
Susan and Darren are mother and son who reveal some of the minutiae and depth of their lives together, their past and their relationship. They live in the same house, have a rhythm and routine of day-to-day habits. Darren has been to dance school, works as a dancer, is gay, lives at home. Susan is a cleaner, has a daughter and grand-daughter, and has lost two husbands through tragic accidents. She is happy, enjoys life, likes having a good time. Darren is the centre of that life. 'What will he miss about her when she is gone?" she wonders.
The interaction between them is both theatrical and realistic - in that sense it is strange. Darren tells the story of incidents in their lives that are touching without being gratuitous or over sentimental, she reveals bits of her past life. They are touchingly close in a real way. And we are treated to occasional sequences of close-up contemporary dance. Susan's taste in music is Motown.
The rest of the show. Susan and Darren are mother and so in real life. Darren is a dance and Susan a cleaner, from Salford. A few years ago, Darren had the idea of making a show with his mother, produced by a production company called Quarantine who work with non-performers as well as trained performers. The result is this show which is original and quirky, humorous without ebing cheesy, and touching without being sentimental. It is well-paced and well-balanced, and works on many different levels. In fact, there is a huge amount packed into this piece.
Susan and Darren are mother and son who reveal some of the minutiae and depth of their lives together, their past and their relationship. They live in the same house, have a rhythm and routine of day-to-day habits. Darren has been to dance school, works as a dancer, is gay, lives at home. Susan is a cleaner, has a daughter and grand-daughter, and has lost two husbands through tragic accidents. She is happy, enjoys life, likes having a good time. Darren is the centre of that life. 'What will he miss about her when she is gone?" she wonders.
The interaction between them is both theatrical and realistic - in that sense it is strange. Darren tells the story of incidents in their lives that are touching without being gratuitous or over sentimental, she reveals bits of her past life. They are touchingly close in a real way. And we are treated to occasional sequences of close-up contemporary dance. Susan's taste in music is Motown.
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