Narc. Magazine Online
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Isabel Johnson enjoys a poignant multidisciplinary collaboration which brought Anna Barker’s tender poetry collection, Book of Crow, to life
Few performances, particularly multidisciplinary ones, are able to capture grief in such a way that this adaptation of Anna Barker’s poetry collection Book of Crow does. Pondering heavy themes through poetry, acting, music and dance, Book of Crow at Live Theatre offered attendees a faithful glimpse into the narrative created by Barker’s poetry, for one night only.
The performance centred around lead actress Natalie Ann Jamieson (perhaps best known for her work in Emmerdale) who flitted effortlessly between the characters of Rachel, a woman grappling with the loss of her mother, and Crow, the voice of grief inside Rachel’s head. When paired with hauntingly beautiful and thought provoking originally commissioned works from Durham-based quartet The Shining Levels and a closing dance from Alicia Meehan representing a physical apparition of Crow, the work was truly powerful and a testament to both the power in multidisciplinary collaboration and the original strength of Anna Barker’s guttingly tender poetry collection.
Book of Crow is a sensitive, emotive work – I recall hearing many a sniffle in the audience – and it impressively captures the inner battle between two voices – Rachel’s voice versus Crow’s, or perhaps the voice of reason versus its more toxic, grating cousin. Not only does the work offer us new perspectives of thought, it also offers us closure – we learn to live with, not let go of, Crow.
