Otherness, queerness and how we relate to nature are all mulled over in Thick & Tight’s evening of curated performance. At times esoteric, when at its best, it is a unique piece of art, thoughtful, considered, and unassuming.
Over the course of around two hours, Thick & Tight presents various performance vignettes, many of which are dance pieces, with the occasional piece of spoken word, and a couple of absurdist sketches. The pieces range from watching cockroaches dance after the end of the world, to movement in response to James Baldwin and a dance adaptation of The Leopard by Lampedusa. Each piece is preceded by a brief audio description of what would follow. What then followed was often esoteric, and yet at the same time totally unpretentious, and beautifully simple, never claiming some spectacular theatrical happening, instead presenting a reflection, or a suggestion of how we might think about something.
Underpinning all of this was a shared look at diversity and queerness, specifically what is defined as natural and unnatural. What was excellent about this piece was just how understated it was. It never told you what it was, nor asked you to define what it was, instead seeking to share itself with you, asking you to experience the event as a passive participant. As a series of offerings, the first half of it was a staggeringly contemplative, reflective composition of musings on a theme.
The first half of this evening worked beautifully as a standalone curation. While reflections on James Baldwin and dance interpretations of The Leopard were fascinating additions in the second act, it lost its quiet brilliance. As performances became more varied, a through line became harder to work through. The second act felt much more akin to a series of short dances than the first act, which sustained a beautiful, reflective conversation with the audience, themselves and nature.
This show is unlike anything I have seen, and at the end of the night, I felt closer to how I often feel upon leaving an exhibition than I do when leaving a show. This is not a criticism, just a reflection on the extent to which Thick & Tight are exploring and pushing the form into new and unexpected spaces. I strongly recommend entering into the curious, tranquil, queer space that Thick & Tight have brought together at Battersea Arts Centre.
Review by Tom Carter
Somewhere between a variety show and a biology essay come alive, Natural Behaviour is a queer look at what it means to be natural or unnatural, highlighting the essential role of diversity in all life.
Thick & Tight’s distinctive mixture of dance, satire, impersonation and poetry aims for the outrageous, the beautiful, the hilarious and the profound. The line-up includes two moths, some post-apocalyptic cockroaches, a blade of grass, the dust in Quentin Crisp’s room, a lamenting songbird, a human tyrant and a lesbian seagull.
Thick & Tight’s co-directors Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry are joined by some remarkable dance artists and collaborators.
Choreography, Direction, Sound & Film Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry (with Azara Meghie for ‘Baldwin’s Room’)
Performers Jahmarley Bachelor, Annie Edwards, Azara Meghie, Luigi Nardone, Housni (DJ) Hassan, Sherifat King, Jackie Ryan, Alice Haddock, Paul Davidson, Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry
Appearing on film Members of the Camberwell Incredibles – Danny Lucas, Daniel Reid, Blue Tierney, Karen Murphy, Charlene Francis, Ed Thompson, Stef Brown, Andrew Cove, Jo Conteh
Costume Design Tim Spooner, Pam Tait and Tink Flaherty
Lighting Design Nao Nagai
Additional Sound Design Jan Brzezinski
Make-up Advice Darren Evans
Hair Advice Rachel Porter
Producers Michael Kitchin and Eve Veglio-Hüner (supported by Ella Holappa
Thick & Tight’s Associate – Touring & International Eckhard Thiemann
Production Manager Meg Hodgson
Access Coordinator Tink Flaherty
Artist Care Jen Smethurst and Kamari Romeo
Audio Description Consultant & Pre-show Access Session Shivaangee Agrawal
Access Support for Corali Sarah Archdeacon, Charles Oni, Gaby Crisba-Lepage, Jacob Roberts and Ella Holappa
Marketing Andrea Edwards
Environmental Consultant Jen Taillefer
NATURAL BEHAVIOUR
Battersea Arts Centre
3 to 7 June 2025
