REVIEW | Starchitects Save Santa! - Motionhouse

Reviews

18 Dec

Written by Katie

Disclaimer: gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.

Based in Leamington Spa, Motionhouse are a company renowned for their vibrant and inspiring dance-circus productions. They perform internationally with their pieces made for both theatres, and the outdoors, and this time, they have teamed up with the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) to put a festive spin on their existing intergalactic children's show, ‘Starchitects’.

This show is absolute Christmas genius! It made me feel 5 again, and is utterly fizzing with joy!

Starchitects Save Santa! is all about play and imagination, taking us on a journey with an adventurous group of friends, who leave their cosy sleepover to jet into space on a Santa rescue mission. The story itself is simple, but Choreographer and Artistic Director Kevin Finnan turns it into the most bonkers visual spectacle, with digital imagery by Logela Multimedia tying everything together brilliantly. These wonderfully designed projections visualise the entire context and setting of the piece whilst moving in tandem with the dancers, and we are treated to some beautiful moments of interaction, including building a snowman and flying a rocket.

The performance burst into life with childlike characters interacting with the audience, and every kid in those seats was absolutely loving it! I haven’t really seen much acting before in previous Motionhouse shows, as ultimately they are dancers before they are actors, but it was so refreshing to see them let go in such a hyper-animated style.

As always, the dancers are impeccable and enthralling, and they can create the most exquisite zero gravity choreography through their iconic lift techniques. All the performers are weightless- the men lift the women and the women lift the men. Adding such a playful and colourful spirit to this complex movement was thrilling, and just goes to show how far these performers can stretch their split second timing and tremendous acrobatic skills. Despite appearing on the surface very candid and full of ‘whooping’ and ‘wahooing’, this is choreographed to perfection, and is beautifully intricate.

I loved the relationship each performer built with one another, and it was even more exciting when we were introduced to each new character that came along. The alien creature resembled a slinky spring and was a great comedic touch in the duet with Santa, who popped up at various moments throughout the show too.

Unfortunately, like so many theatres, MAC has also fallen victim to the dreaded RAAC, which has forced its auditorium to close. Starchitects now takes place in the gallery space, and although is a bit of a tight squeeze, it does give it that sense of intimacy, making us feel like we are right there with them at their sleepover and saving Christmas! And at only an hour long, it is also the perfect length show to hold the attention of even the littlest audience members.

Exuding childish joy, this show is a sure fire win for every family seeking some new kind of festive adventure this Christmas. Its uniqueness really is a treat even for the parents and is one of those shows you just have to see for yourself.

You can join Starchitects on their mission to save Santa until 30th December at MAC, Birmingham.