REVIEW: AMPLIFY @ THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH

🎭 Amplify

📍 The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Royal Parade, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 2TR

🗓 Tuesday 18th February 2025

⭐️⭐️.5

VARIED AND VARIABLE

An evening of dance by a variety of choreographers featuring young performers from the Southwest of England is something that fills me with happy anticipation. It is always good to see fresh ideas and dancers growing their artform.   

The show hits the ground running with a sharp, energetic street dance piece performed by Plymouth’s Rhythm City entitled MEMORIES. Kadus Smith’s choreography ebbs and flows, the performers moving as one entity. It is tight, bright and emotional. I only wish it were longer. 

Aisha Namaani’s NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING is the first work of the evening to use the voiceover along with music which, in addition to the choreography, tells the story. This is a bright amusing piece with fluid, expressive dance. Namaani is a very relatable performer and the audience are soon smiling and laughing along with her at her confusion with life. For me the piece lost its way a little with a spoken word section and an uncomfortable tap performance.  

Following this is LAND EMPATHY choreographed by Richard Chappell and performed by Marla King and Juan Sánchez Plaza. Originally performed outdoors I feel it just does not translate to an indoor blank space; all points of reference seem lost which is a great pity. The choreography is repetitive and very weak on storytelling. With out the notes in the programme I would have had no insight as to what its “powerful narrative” is. Marla King is an excellent dancer let down by the choreography, Unfortunately, in this performance, Juan Sanchez Plaza appears tentative and lacks fluidity. Possibly because of all this the piece came across as over long. 

SILENCE BETWEEN WAVES choreographed by Richard Chappell. Sadly, this has a similar feel to the previous performance. The choreography was wafty and did not have any appreciable tale to tell. Once again it relies too heavily on the now tedious voiceover/music theme.  Lacking any dynamism and reminiscent of the interpretive dance trends of old, it too seems vague and too long. It was, however capably danced by Marla King and Imogen Alvares. For me the root of any performance is how well it delivers the story it wishes to portray, this just does not speak to me. 

The evening finishes with a piece of socio-political comment beginning with a rousing voiceover, a call to arms against the corrupt and absurd political climate in which we find ourselves. This corruption is represented by a slug like monster that crawls malignantly on to the stage and transforms as the work progresses. Conceived by and performed by Juan Sánchez Plaza and Isabel Álvarez Pinazo, THE RENEGADE MASTER is clever and amusing despite its serious message. The execution of the switch from political commentary to a happy “Queer celebration of hope and unity is clumsy but heartfelt and brings the evening to a cheery conclusion. 

Rosie Sharman-Ward

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Amplify was gifted by Theatre Royal Plymouth who invited me to watch the show on behalf of Pink Prince Theatre in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.