EXTRAORDINARY and very, very clever are the only words I can use to describe Norman, a mixed media masterpiece at Brighton Theatre Royal.
Part of the Brighton Festival, the show celebrates the work of Scottish-born Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren, one of the most inventive abstract animators of the 20th century.
Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon put together a show that combines dan
ce, drama and film in such an imaginative way it is difficult to describe.
Dancer/choreographer Peter Trosztmer gives a tour de force performance as he takes us literally right into the world of McLaren's films in this English première.
It's a one man show, although Peter is joined throughout by filmmakers, directors and commentators on McLaren's life and work, including the man himself, using projection – they even sit down next to him on a bench and place a piece of film mosaic on his outstretched hand.
Peter is obsessed by the filmmaker and we see him looking at the film from the outside and then actually disappearing inside it.
In a remarkable, unique and awe-inspiring feat, projection screens have the film running at different sections of the stage and Peter interacts perfectly with the images, with incredible timing.
He dances, jumps, weaves in and out of lines that appear to trap him... it's a staggeringly mesmerising visual treat and like nothing you will ever have seen before.
After an hour and a half of such captivating stuff, Norman deserved every bit of the long and resounding applause it received.
The show is on until May 10, at 8pm.
Tickets are £10 to £20 from on 01273 709709 or
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