The Verse’s Csenge Krokovay reviews We Are Ian at Brighton’s Komedia, Wednesday 31st May 2017
Illegal raves…acid parties? We are Ian is a 5-star theatre experience! A legal rave is awaiting for you at Komedia.
I have visited Komedia many times this month, due to Brighton Fringe, and I have seen incredible shows and performers. But I must say We Are Ian was far the best theatre experience I have ever had in Brighton Fringe. Extremely smart production. Three Weeks says it: “Demonstrates how having a dance can be a defiantly political act. You need to experience it for yourselves.”
The show is only takes 45 minutes all together, although the production is so interactive after leaving the theatre, you feel like you just came from a whole night long dance and acid party. Sounds incredible.
Devised by performance group In Bed With My Brother, We Are Ian considers the height of the 1989 illegal rave moment. Our decent narrator Ian tells us his story from the time when he was a part of the movement and as he states, was the happiest in his life. We hear about the socio-political background of the era and of course, how people ran away from politics into partying.
His story captivating the three performers, Kat Cory, Dora Lynn and Nora Alexander, who drive us through the crazy journey we signed up for. Even those who are don’t feel ready for this will get hooked up on the charming feeling of freedom, negligence and dance. Throughout the show the performers inject Ian into us, and we become one in the room. We will find ourselves dancing on stage and do the ‘hot potato, cold spaghetti’ dance with our chair neighbours.
In Bed With My Brother is Nora, Do????ra and Kat, performance creators and three best friends: “We use real-life stories, we make a massive song and dance of the mundane, a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and lip-syncing. We don’t use scripts, and we’re not always sure exactly what it is we do. We’re just glad that this threesome wasn’t a one night stand.”
For now, that is enough to know. I hope I completed my task and I made this production attractive to you, because I can’t say more. It would be bad to spoil We are Ian and tell you more accurately what happened on stage.
It is a must-see theatre show, really smart, funny and moving. We Are Ian will bring you back to 1989 and you will dance like you had some ‘brown biscuits’.
See you at Ian’s.
