Common Salt: Fresh, Quirky and Original.
Common Salt (Sue & Sheila beginning of show RMG) Credit John Hunter
Common Salt, The Fierce Festival, Birmingham City Centre, 15-20 October.
Review by Ellie Blackwell
Bringing to light centuries of India and England’s forgotten past, two women take us on an unconventional ‘journey through history’ with sweet harmonies, poetic metaphors, and a Shruti box.
In the breath-taking Birmingham Exchange Building, Sue Palmer and Sheila Ghelani delved into the centuries of forgotten, yet inescapable, history that binds England and India, in their unique, ‘show and tell’ performance. Performed as part of Birmingham’s Fierce Festival, Common Salt will soon be ending ticket sales for good, but don’t worry! They are currently working on a new project so keep your eyes peeled…
Before it began, we were ushered into the exhibition room in which arches of chairs were intimately set out around a velvet-clothed table. As the performance began, it was clear this was a well-rehearsed and innovative spectacle, not just another drab history lesson. A metaphorical journey through their research and discoveries masterfully told through a range of media including music, poetry, film, props - and humour!
Common Salt (Sue & Sheila end of show RMG) Credit John Hunter
Although describing a feeling of sadness when performing, Sheila also told me she felt ‘privileged’ to share her journey and hopes to leave her audience ‘informed’ and hungry for more knowledge as they leave the room… And it did. It really made me stop and see how India’s precious commodities were bled and inextricably sewn into every fibre of our ‘Britishness’. But don't get me wrong, you won't walk out the door depressed and miserable, there's an artful equilibrium between light-heartedness and sobriety that makes this piece incredibly accessible.
Similarly, for Sue, it was ‘deeply depressing yet liberating’ to own up to the fact that we learn nothing from history. It’s for that reason, that for ten years, she and Shelia have worked determinedly to do this delicate story justice.
Poetical yet accessible, sombre yet funny, Common Salt is appropriate for open minds of any age. If history intrigues you but a classroom bores you, this quirky and original show and tell performance is perfect.
First published by Voicemag
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