Arts

Gallery welcomes mutilated ornaments

A collection of lovingly mutilated figurines is currently on show at the University Gallery in an exhibition aimed at understanding the world we live in.

I thought I was the audience and then I looked at you consists of a series of cheap decorative ornaments picked up at car boot sales by the Birmingham-based artist Ruth Claxton. Each period-dressed figurine is transformed into glitzy, glam-rock style by the addition of plastic combs, door handles, sequins, feathers and sea shells.

Through sculpture and installation Ruth Claxton considers the shift towards an increasingly dislocated, individualistic society and the impact our passive consumption of information has on the way we understand, interpret and question the world we live in. She uses figurines, blinkered by the beauty of everyday objects, along with mirrors and other reflective surfaces to confuse the status of audience and artefact.

Jessica Kenny, Director of the University Gallery, said: 'It is always exciting to bring young, British artists to Colchester to help raise the profile of art in this country. Ruth's exhibition, which allows the audience access to her weird and wonderful world, is well worth a visit.'

I thought I was the audience and then I looked at you will be at the University Gallery until 18 December. Admission is free and opening times are as follows: Monday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 1pm to 4.30pm.

Tragic love at Lakeside
Review of Romeo and Juliet presented by the Shifting Sands company at the Lakeside Theatre
By Lucy Traube

This piece of family entertainment told the story of Romeo and Juliet, it used clowning and physical story telling as its medium.

It included much of the dialogue from Shakespeare’s story and at points added its own interpretation, much to the packed audiences approval.

The Lakeside was positively brimming with people, who from the outset (which by the way was the three performers entering via the audience) warmed to the piece and laughed out loud throughout. The piece was fast paced, the three performers chopped and changed costume, dialects, and even genders to deliver the story.

Highlights were a cleverly devised scene with a wicker basket as a bath, aided very nicely with sound effects from a nearby bucket of water with one of the performers' hands sloshing it in time with Gerry Flanagan (Director of Shifting Sands) in the bath.

This piece had a pantomime feeling and I think it is an excellent way to introduce Shakespeare to children, with its up-to-date approach, Juliet pinching Romeo’s bottom to get his attention. Not something from the original text! It was a real hit with the younger members of the audience. My only reservation towards this piece was the set which was laden with props and objects continuously moved around to create the different scenes. It looked and felt a bit messy, my position in the audience meant I could see the actors changing into their roles.