As the appreciative audience left the auditorium, most walking - although more than usual with the aid of wheelchairs or signing to each other - I was left wondering, 'where and how do I begin to write on such a performance?'  

The Graeae Theatre Company, established in 1980 is by far the best known theatre company of people with physical and sensory impairments. Funded by the Arts Council, London Arts and Association of London Government, Graeae tours nationally and internationally twice a year with imaginative and exciting productions of both classical and newly-commissioned theatre.

The company aims to redress the exclusion of people with physical and sensory impairments from performance and is concerned with developing high quality and genuinly pioneering theatre in both its aesthetic and content.

The Guardian referred to 'Peeling' as 'Striking and cleverly-judged.....a major piece of theatre, acted with honesty and terrific chutzpah'. The three characters of the play are on stage from the onset when the audience take their seats in the auditorium. Unobtrusive music plays and the two visible characters look as if they are totally within their own worlds, moving a little and blinking. All three are coccooned within huge crinoline-style dresses which later are peeled away to reveal metal frames which parallel the characters stripping away each others outer gritty determination  to show their inner vulnerability.

The show is full of feisty humour. It is an engaging and challenging production which invites the audience to 'step outside the box', leave their comfort zones and share in the absurd isolation of Alpha, Beta and Coral. 'Peeling' explores an entirely new narrative of theatre, weaving in audio description and sign language as a wholly natural part of the characters' personal but resonant stories.  Definitely worth seeing. 

I feel this play needs rating, not in comparison to others, but purly on its own merits.

The Tick List

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 Overall

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Saturday 6pm & 9pm

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£7 Conc

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