Words by Pagan Hunt.
“I don’t see why everyone likes me so much,” giggles Twiggy; 6ft tall, muscular, facing upstage. “I suppose I’m like most girls of 16.”
Tilt, shimmy, wink, pirouette – constantly switching gears between drag, mime, and technical dance, the level of detail in every single action is almost more than my eyes can keep up with. This is the finely crafted work of someone who knows exactly how to grab attention – and hold it.
That ‘someone’ is two people, Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry (Thick and Tight) whose approach to choreography incorporates both high and low art to investigate queer culture.
The series of vignettes ranges from Marlene Dietrich to Rasputin to Elaine Paige, and each one strikes a perfect balance of comedy, pathos, athleticism, character, and social commentary.
Harry Alexander’s Andy Warhol plays this balance most delicately, and expertly. Sexy, virtuosic Cunningham, twisting and shifting, with nervous gestures and innocent expression. I see a pitiful child, desperate to connect, to reach high enough to see over the garden wall. In a moment, a confident smoulder and perfect arabesque promenade, gliding across the surface of a lake.
Vidya Patel’s Winston Churchill hits a darker note, her pounding Kathak footwork, whiplike turns and terrifying expression bringing to life the problematic side of Britain’s “greatest hero”, set to voice recordings discussing “the immigrant problem”. Patel’s performance is hypnotic, the juxtaposition of gender and culture provocative.
“Juxtaposition of things not ordinarily juxtaposed, produces in people a feeling of mirth.” – John Cage, as quoted in ‘Cage & Paige’, the final, longer scene in which two seemingly contrasting but as it turns out, incredibly similar celebrities are brought to life by Daniel and Eleanor. This for me was the absolute pinnacle of their creative genius, by this point the pair have earned our trust in the madness, and we are eating out of the palms of their hands, hanging on every word, swerving wilfully into every emotional shift. The movement, drawing from ballet, contemporary, musical theatre, is so full of clear character and spliced so perfectly with lipsyncing and mime, that we are never abandoned in the abstract.
The thing that holds this chaos together is the fact that everything is taken seriously, even the jokes. Thick and Tight do not make fun of or parody, and they don’t need to – the auditorium is filled with gasping laughter and whoops of delight, then swept into silence with the slightest change of expression. It is so refreshing to go to a theatre and laugh – really laugh – but also to feel scared, and sad, and angry, and touched.
Tits and Teeth is delightfully self aware, deliciously cheeky, heartfelt, and a bloody fun time.
Upcoming tour dates:
5th April – Pyramid Theatre Warrington
28th June – Blackpool Grand for Blackpool Pride
To book, visit here.
Header image by Rosie Powell.