Tess at the Belgrade Theatre

Ockham's Razor's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Photo (c) Daniel Denton.

Tess, an Ockham’s Razor, in association with Turtle Key Arts production based on the classic novel by Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, playing at the Belgrade Theatre from 10 – 12 April 2024, with a Press performance on Wednesday 10 April.

Preview

Tess is performed by Ockham’s Razor’s ensemble of circus performers, capturing the poetry of Hardy’s text with the company’s signature physical storytelling to guide the audience through this classic tale of power, loss and endurance. It is a story which still has extraordinary relevance for our times in its incredibly nuanced evocation of female relationships, sexual desire, consent, privilege and poverty.

Bringing Thomas Hardy's novel to life. Photo (c) Daniel Denton.

Against a backdrop of projections, the cast wield wooden planks, climb shifting walls and move through ropes and swathes of linen to evoke the vast landscapes and interior worlds of Hardy’s Wessex. Tess captures the beauty, heartbreak and yearning of the novel and draws upon the incredible strength of the circus body to create a Tess as heroic as Hardy intended.

Ockham Razor’s ensemble is made up of Macadie Amoroso, Joshua Frazer, Lauren Jamieson, Lila Naruse, Victoria Skillen, Leah Wallings and Nat Whittingham. Nat Whittingham previously performed with Coventry-based physical theatre company Highly Sprung in their productions of Urban Astronaut and Freya.

A production not to be missed. Photo (c) Daniel Denton.

The creative team behind Ockham’s Razor’s Tess consists of adaptors and directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney, producers Alison King and Turtle Key Arts, choreographer Nathan Johnson, composer, sound designer and producer Holly Khan, design and equipment conceptor Ockham’s Razor, in association with set and costume designer Tina Bicât, lighting designer Aideen Malone, projection designer Daniel Denton and script advisor Anne-Marie Casey.

For tickets: https://www.belgrade.co.uk/events/tess/