REWIND – Ephemeral Ensemble / New Diorama Theatre, London

Ephemeral Ensemble come to New Diorama Theatre with REWIND, a tribute to South America’s desaparecidos and those who have fought to tell their stories.

First Some Background: Argentina’s Desaparecidos

Where to start with REWIND?  It is a desperately sad, visually impressive work of theatre by Ephemeral Ensemble, based on real events.  Ephemeral Ensemble are a multi-national, multi-award winning company who bring to light hidden social issues.  The story behind REWIND, co-devised by the performers and directed by Ramon Ayres is that of South America’s, specifically Argentina’s, turbulent 20th Century history under military dictatorships.  But while the tale the company tell is poignant, they focus on two groups who have shown great bravery and integrity in uncovering the fates of the “forcibly disappeared”.

The first of these I had heard of previously: Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (the Mothers of Mayo Square). A group of women whose (mostly young adult) sons and daughters were amongst the estimated 30,000 individuals killed by the National Reorganisation Process regime.  Their persistent calls for the return of their missing children was a brave act which risked their own lives. Over the years some women have had closure.  Others have not.  It’s a sisterhood forged in the most unimaginable grief. 

The second group is the Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense (EAAF – Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team).  As the name suggests, they have painstakingly catalogued and studied human remains from mass graves and other sites.  Their history is entwined with the mothers and grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo who, with the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, saw the need for scientific methods to identify victims and sought the necessary support. Through DNA comparison, including with the mothers’ group, they have been able to identify a small but significant number of the victims, bringing families closure and telling the final chapter in the victims’ stories.  They were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

REWIND

That’s our background.  Now what about Ephemeral Ensemble’s interpretation? Well, interestingly, it has some things in common with the last work I saw, Antechamber by Stereoptik.  They are very different in their themes and emotional impacts.  But both create these impacts through live musical and visual effects.  In REWIND‘s case this is through looping sounds layered by multi-instrumentalist Alex Paton, and the best use of an overhead projector I’ve seen in many a year (mostly manned by the production’s lighting designer Josephine Tremmeling).

But at the most basic level, REWIND is impactful because it takes a frighteningly large tragedy and makes it personal.  We trace EAAF scientists as they study a young woman’s remains, interspersed with scenes from the woman’s life and family.  Knowing her fate gives the tender moments a sense of poignancy and fatality.  But there’s also life, music and passion, restoring her personhood while underscoring the futility of all that loss of life.

Not all the experiments in storytelling worked for me, however.  There was some puppetry with a skeleton, for example, that I found it difficult to connect with emotionally in the same way I did the other scenes.  A skeleton certainly confronts us with the fragility of mortality, but it cannot emote as the actors do.

And emote they do.  As the company’s name suggests this is really an ensemble work, and comes with some great performances.  A special mention must go to Andres Velasquez who frames the piece: an opening speech introducing the company and relating the work to their own experiences and beliefs, and a final scene of immense power and emotion. But really everyone is excellent. Louise Wilcox as the disappeared young woman, Alicia. Eyglo Belafonte as her grief-stricken mother. The company give the subject matter their all, creating a worthy tribute to the two groups they aim to highlight.

This isn’t easy viewing. But it is important. It’s also an innovative and dynamic work of theatre: both the story and the approach are deserving of as wide an audience as possible.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

REWIND on until 10 February 2024