Niketa Fazal curates, produces and designs the annual Kenya Arts Diary that highlights emerging and established artists from the East African Region.
This performance is an inquiry of a seemingly everyday act from interdisciplinary artists Dear Annie as well as one of the Bold Mellon Collective Founder and Artistic Director Emilia Nurmukhamet. Together, they’ve created a show that traverses emotions and personal history by putting the spotlight on the simple act of gifting. Give or Take is a performance that had to be experienced rather than watched in the traditional sense.
The premise of the show in the words of the performers was- ” GIVE OR TAKE is a critique of oppressive and imperialist bargains, inviting audiences into a surreal re-enactment of their favourite gifts, as we ask: can anything ever come for free?”. As serious and intellectual as that may sound, the light jubilant form of expression they chose, mainly dance, music and improvisation, keeps the audience engaged and even involved. Naturally this results in the audience absorbing the message effortlessly and questioning the nuances that gifting entails.
Watching Give or Take was refreshingly welcome and left me with the feeling of disappointment that I wasn’t actually present in the audience to participate and become a part of the creating process. The otherness of the audience was removed and the performance celebrated inclusivity in every sense including the narration by sign language by an interpreter.
The performance begins with the audience participation of writing down their favourite gift, either received or given in exchange for a flower. As the play unfolds we watch an improv enactment of the gift as the second performer guesses what it is – the sound, music and tempo of the scene is delightful and draws you in till you’re invested and begin to guess the gift as the audience. This guesswork is recorded, re-mixed and played back for the last act of the play. As this euphony of sound begins the performers dance a dazzling duet that easily translates their obvious chemistry and love for performing to the audience. Their expression of joy, sadness and disappointment act as a catalyst to start questioning your own experience as they analyse the act of giving, the memory of it and the intricate relationships between the giver and receiver. After all isn’t understanding abstract ideas the reason why we love and appreciate art? Ultimately, it’s their own ongoing exercise of experimentation and creative curiosity that fuels our appreciation of Give or Take.’
all images credit @wilz_photo_trsk