"Empire", the powerful new stage work of Thick & Tight (Live at Lunch at ROH, 13.01.2023)

Live at Lunch is now a well-established Friday event, attended by a large audience. Offered by the Royal Opera House, once or twice a month, completely free, they rose sustainably and considerably in popularity. So much so, that it came to a point when you need to come quite early, and by "early" I mean before 12.30 pm, if you want to be amongst the first ones in the queue and sit in the front rows. I came just about that time and the queue formed already a long-twisted snake. The attendance was really impressive, it seemed that peolpe knew what would be performed, although the program is never shared beforehand. Fortunatelly, Paul Hamlyn Hall is big enough and can accommodate many people.

Yesterday's performance was a showcase of a new stage work by Thick & Tight Company , who has been regularly presenting their choreographies or workshops for people with learning difficulties at the Royal Opera House during the "Live at Lunch". This time, they came to present their new stage piece Empire, brilliantly interpreted and co-choreographed by Vidya Patel.

Empire is essentially about Winston Churchill, but not to celebrate his "hero" side, rather to show different perspectives on his official historical achievements and also the consequences, following his decisions, which caused many nations to suffer.

The one-person stage work (there was only Vidya on the stage) touched on very sensitive topics, so important nowadays, above all - racism and immigration. Because of them, some contemporary politicians were included in the choreography as well, for example the British Prime Ministers and Home secretaries, but also south-Asian politicians, whose decisions provoke debates and (even) protests.

This was a piece of art, choreographed and performed to make us think, to unveil a darker, less popular side of politics and politicians and to say that, sometimes, history is interpreted according to those who are in power. Vidya, coming from the Indian background, combined in her dancing the classical Kathak dance, the contemporary dance, pantomime and lip sync speech. The slow motions were contrasted by very quick and abrupt changes, especially when inhabiting different characters in a short period of time. The upper body, so soft but controlled during the footwork (the heel tapping rhythm, coming from Kathak) could suddenly shape into very unusual positions, complemented by very distinctive gestures and facial expressions.

I must admit, I was surprised and amazed by the precision of the choreography, and, most importantly, by the power of message they wanted to convey.

Image taken by Rosie Powell.