BY MORAG PHILLIPS
[star rating =5/5]
LAURA CARELESS is a performer who catches you in her grip for the entirety of her show. She does it through the powerful imagery she creates with her body, her voice, and her face. She-Wolves, which takes inspiration from the BBC TV show of the same name, tells a fascinating story of five pre-Elizabethen English queens.
During this solo performance she commands the whole stage and transfixes the audience; with use of simple costume changes, done in black out, while we read the narrative on the screen behind her.
Careless was born in U.K. She trained at the Royal Ballet School, then at Maurice Bejart’s Ecole Atelier, after which she continued her training at The Julliard Dance School in New York. She still has links with Juilliard through her extensive work in education as well as choreographing and performing all over world.
Careless is by nature nomadic and also not content with one genre, she is also a trained actress. Her singing voice is like a rich velvet curtain billowing towards you, and she can convey pain, despair and defeat with her body one minute, and then as you watch she metamorphises into a proud, confident and very regal being.
In this performance she tells the stories Mathilda, Eleanor, Margaret, Jane and Mary. These were strong women living in a very different time; daughters, wives and mothers of kings. This was an age of acrimony, bloodshed and betrayal. Careless conveys the despair of these woman as different events occur throughout history, and tells the story of their emotional regrouping as they become strong, each of them fighting for the crown for their individual reasons.
Simple lighting, a treasure chest full of dresses, skirts and robes, and images on a screen are all that Careless requires to tell her stories. Her body, voice and ability to become a Queen are the strongest components of this facinating performance.
I hope we can see more of her work in the UK soon. She is an astounding performer.
