“What are you trying to say?” is a self conscious expose of the tangle and knots we get ourselves in, over the gnawing fear of failure (fettered by hopes of success) in the creative process. Simply by being explored on stage the audience is immediately confronted with what this looks and feels like, when if we had a choice we might prefer to look away. Opening with the creative void of making something out of nothing, the familiar cliches and motions of not quite being able to put your finger on what are you trying to achieve is acted out to impressive exactness, provoking outbursts of embarrassed laughter as the audience relates. Hannah Kew and Isabelle Cressy delve into the question of boundaries, wrestling between the fear of either being too restrained and risking boredom or being limitless in the extreme, through a mixture of discussion and monologue mirrored by often squirming, volatile, awkward, boundless dance. In the end it poses the question whether we can really fail when “What makes meaningful art?” is fully participating in the creative process, pure enthusiasm, whether the end result receives a welcome response or not.
Look out for further development of PINCH Productions “What are you trying to say?” with support from Bristol Ferment and the Bristol Old Vic.
Food for Thought 