Climax

Written and Directed by Paul Malek, Climax is an action packed & non stop dance-athon featuring a cast of 11 dancers, all of whom are of extreme talent and ability.

 

 

The story focuses predominantly on 7 lead characters, all of which are searching for their own individual climax-The climax of life. All of the characters start the show at one point in their life and throughout the show we see how all of the characters are connected. We are shown the secrets they are hiding, the double lives they are living and the aspects of themselves they are ashamed of. 

 

Clearly written as an ensemble piece, every cast member was of high calibre and gave complete dedication to the story being told. I give special mention to Ashleigh Perrie, who played the part of The Assistant. Ashleigh’s flawless dancing was unique and stunning to watch. She was in great company though, with Trent Harlow as The Tradesman & Alexandra Gray as the Wealthy Adulterer who both excelled in their respective lead roles. An aspect that all must be congratulated on is the acting. Often dance shows can lend themselves to including very strong panto style acting, but this entire cast kept their characters pure and direct. In a small space quite often subtlety works the best, and in this instance that statement is true.

 

So many elements of the production were positive and for the most part culminated together seamlessly. Lighting was an overall highlight, the seemingly small rig added great effects to the well laid out set with clever light placement through the set with perfectly pin pointed spots from above. There was a lack of front lighting, and an overload of haze which made it difficult to see a lot of the finer details and pivotal moments in the story, but this is forgivable given the great visuals the lighting provided.

 

The opening 10 minutes of the show was the highlight for me, as I did not expect such an action packed and cleverly choreographed storyline to be presented to me. With so much going on it could have easily become a mashed up mess, but the performers were tight, strong and evidently very focused. It was very apparent that I was going to be sitting though a well rehearsed and thought through production. I was not let down as the entire show lived up to expectation.

 

I send great kudos to Paul Malek for bringing to life a clever and stylish production that was extremely original and enjoyable to watch. It’s pleasing and refreshing to know that such talented and inspiring people are growing within our industry and starting to get the recognition they deserve.

 

I highly recommend everyone visit Collaborations website www.collaboration-project.com  and keep a close eye on all their upcoming productions.