“Engrossing, poetic commentaries on stories that span continents...splendidly written as well as performed.”
“A show that envelops your senses; a textured adventure crafted to take you on a journey from Asia via Australia to London. Live music, movement, new writing, film and lost languages entice you into other times and places – both real and imagined. SHIELD is a courageous voyage into lands of war, cycles of violence and acts of redemption. Told with humour, physicality, musicality and poetry.”
DIVERSITY ’13 COMMISSION BY OVALHOUSE, London, 2013
What does it mean to be diverse?
What does diverse work look/ feel/ sound like?
What are the expectations of diverse work and how do you feel about them?
Are some kinds of 'diverse' more recognised than others?
How do you feel about the word 'diverse' coming before the word 'artist'?
If 'diverse' means 'different', then how can 'diverse' be a grouping?
Who gets to decide who is 'diverse'?
What makes work diverse - people or practice?
What is the relationship between diversity and radical politics?
What does diversity mean for form?
and
How can you make a piece of theatre about all this which will be theatrically exciting?
SHIELD won Diversity ‘13 commission and was a large-scale dance-theatre work at Ovalhouse, London. It was a personal narrative interweaving the Australian bark shield - the only Australian object in Rooms of Enlightenment at British Museum.S et to an original score, written and performed live by Tobia Sturmer, with fabulous, compelling percussion and a set made of silk, Shield was a beautiful expression of the notion of home, exploration, love and communication.
CONCEPT & CHOREOGRAPHY: Amaara Raheem
SOUND & FILM: Tobias Sturmer
PERFORMERS: Amaara Raheem, Seke Chimutengwende, Hamish MacPherson & Tobias Sturner
LIGHTING: Justyna Janiszewska
PHOTOS: Eulanda Shead