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Damian Robinson digests a well communicated but slightly underwhelming stage interpretation of Vincent Delecroix’s Small Boat
Image by Damian Robinson
Using the unofficial strapline ‘desperation has been dehumanised’, it’s clear from the off that the Live Theatre’s production of Small Boat was always likely to be uncomfortable but important. Set to a theatre production, Amy Golding’s direction of Small Boat is, in essence, a live reading of Vincent Delecroix’s literary account of a desperate refugee flee for survival. Taken over multiple perspectives, the heart of Small Boat is an interesting reflection of how the individuals at the centre of immigration are often forgotten about in favour of easy to make generalisations about issues and soundbites. Deeply moving in places, Delecroix’s work is a level-setting piece of work which challenges stereotypes and requests the reader to re-consider the nature of immigration and the desperation leading the action.
Brought to stage, Aimee Kelly and Joana Geronimo do a fine job of the live reading; using performance techniques to embody the central characters and bring in the appropriate layers of emotion required to drive the story. Unfortunately tonight feels a little more like a rehearsal rather than a full production given the performance; both performers do well at delivering large chunks of script, but the reading – although clearly communicated during the marketing of the show – does feel more like a live reading than a dramatic piece; and given the story, and its meaning, you end up wishing the show was a little more engaging and captivating than what we end up with. This is an interesting story, and well delivered, but it just needs a little more.
