Stage set for drama and music (From Gazette & Herald)

Stage set for drama and music

3:00pm Wednesday 25th April 2012 in What's on By Natalya Wilson

INNOVATIVE theatre, high drama and classical music takes over the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough this week with three very different shows.

Today and tomorrow, Curious Directive present their Edinburgh Fringe First-winning show, Your Last Breath, which explores visions of isolation, origins and northern Norwegian mountains.

Using video projection, live piano score and intricate movement, the show unravels the humanity behind the cutting-edge scientific practice of ‘suspended animation’.

Your Last Breath is inspired by the astonishing true story of Anna Bågenholm, an extreme skier in northern Norway who, while out in the mountains in 1999, slipped and became trapped under ice. Her heart stopped as her temperature dropped to 13.7C, the lowest ever recorded temperature. Miraculously, after four hours, her heart started up again.

The piece also follows three further storylines, in 1876, 2011 and 2034.

Christopher, a Scottish cartographer, travels from London to map the uncharted areas of northern Norway in 1876. He bonds with the indigenous Saami people and as the bitter winter sets in, he struggles to survive in the harsh landscape.

Meanwhile, in 2011, Freija, a successful businesswoman, travels to the mountains in Norway to scatter her father’s ashes. She discovers a fragile old document which changes her irreversibly.

And in 2034, Nicholas argues his medical case and explains why Anna’s accident saved his life as a new born baby.

The piece, created in collaboration with anaesthetist Dr Vassilis Athanassoglou (Sense About Science), is a prime example of the work Curious Directive makes.

Since its inception in 2008, Curious Directive, based in eastern England, has been making innovative theatre which peers through the lens of science.

The company is an ever-growing nomadic family of biologists, actors, video designers, physicists, illustrators, technicians, directors, choreographers, composers, producers and writers.

The show times are today at 7.30pm and tomorrow at 1.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10-£15.

Meanwhile, DNA, a compelling thriller by award-winning Hull Truck Theatre, runs from Monday until May 2.

DNA follows the story of a group of teenagers who try to cover their tracks after making the biggest mistake of their lives. But their temporary harmony soon begins to unravel with dire consequences for the gang and others around them. As relationships break down, innocent people are punished and in a further twist, all may not quite be as it seems… First performed at the National Theatre in 2008, this startling play is fast becoming a contemporary classic with young audiences and has recently become a core set-text on the GCSE English syllabus, studied by up to 400,000 students each year.

The production features a cuttingedge design and soundtrack, making it a thrilling introduction to live theatre.

Hull Truck Theatre has assembled an excellent cast for this production, including James Alexandrou, who played Martin Fowler in EastEnders.

The show is at 7.45pm with a 1.45pm matinee on Tuesday. Tickets cost £10-£15/£7.50 students.

Finally, the Doric String Quartet plays on Saturday at 7.30pm as part of the Music in the Round series, performing Haydn’s Quartet in D Op 20 No 4, Chausson Quartet in C minor Op 35 and Schubert’s Quartet in D minor D 810 Death and the Maiden.

Haydn’s early masterpiece shows his imagination and brilliant technique as the father of the string quartet, while the wistful beauty and harmonies of Chausson’s only string quartet offer a tantalising glimpse of what might have been had his life not been tragically cut short. Tickets are £12.50-£17.50.

For all tickets, phone the box office on 01723 370541 or online at www.sjt.uk.com