FOLLOWING our build-up coverage to this year’s Greater Manchester Fringe, Quays News entertainment reporter Nathan Smith caught up with theatrical duo Fèar Donn as they enter a fresh piece named Dose…
Following the themes of drug abuse, dance music and the general semantic field that is the modern youth nightclub scene, multi-disciplinary performers Naomi and Rosie make up the theatre production Fèar Donn, creators of Dose.
“It’s from a case study of these two girls who were caught with £1.5 million worth of cocaine. We wanted to make that a dark and grim piece.”
With Dose promising to be a physical piece – there is no speech included apart from a monologue at the end – capturing the essence of the nightclub culture is a pivotal part of the performance.
“Everything’s spontaneous. It’s all about the night club culture. And we thought what better way to empathize that then with a DJ.”
The DJ will throw in surprises to make the piece spontaneous, with the pair just shrugging, adding: “That’s what makes the piece so good”.
Building on the fact they look eerily similar to each other, and clarify there is no relation, Fèar Donn say their character is actually two personas of the same body.
“One of us is as the body and the other is the consciousness,” says Rosie.
Naomi adds: “We’re playing with that idea of two minds one body. Also with the good and bad sides of a night club.”
“We wear the same outfits, we make the same movements and sequences. We also do the complete opposite to show us stepping out of it. It’s all very minimal – our bodies do the talking.”
Adding an extra layer of symbolism to the piece, the pair say the physical aspect takes centre stage. In contrast to fetching dresses as audience members might expect from the clientele of a nightclub, Fèar Donn say people may be “shocked” at their attire. The pair announce they, in fact, wear American-style prison jumpsuits, in order to “follow those themes of anti-social symbolism”.
As the physical piece explores the dark side of the nightclub culture, a focal point surrounding the piece is the experience people have when on drugs.
Clarifying that the duo has never experienced drugs first hand, they detail a thorough research process to capture the mannerisms:
“To find out, we interviewed a series of people who have taken drugs and filmed them. We then based our movements on those reactions.”
You can get your fix of Fèar Donn’s Dose at the Greater Manchester Fringe website here.
By Nathan Smith
@NayfSmith
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