HomeArts & LifestyleThey Live Next Door at Square Chapel Studio

They Live Next Door at Square Chapel Studio

Set in a sparsely furnished room, two men are alone in the half-light of a private home. But whose home is it and what’s their story? Are they friends or neighbours, brothers or lovers? Their relationship seems confrontational yet warm, tender yet poisoned. Are we watching their memories of a fading past or their dreams for a brighter future?

They Live Next Door is an intricately crafted dance and theatre duet that draws the audience into a turbulent relationship between two men created by Lithuanian choreographer Ieva Kuniskis and performed by Nicholas Minns and Mark Boldin.

Minns and Boldin use Kuniskis’ engrossing and nuanced movement vocabulary to present the audience with an emotional roller-coaster. As the relationship between them unravels, the audience is inevitably sucked into their world and our fascination for other people’s lives is given its full rein.

“I am interested in social psychology and I’m fascinated by our idiosyncrasies, exploring what makes us who we are,” says Ieva.

“I observe how stereotypes and social labelling affects our identity and relationships. In ‘They Live Next Door’ the two central characters are stuck…they don’t communicate any more yet they’re co-dependent, weighed down by duty, expectation and longing and they can’t break away from each other. We’re drawn into their world and wonder how and why they got to this stage; we might judge, empathise or even recognise aspects of our own lives. They may live next door to us but apart from the odd hello, how much do we really know about our next door neighbours’ lives?”

They Live Next Door is at Square Chapel Studio, Halifax, from 14 March 2019. Book online at squarechapel.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01422 349 422.

author avatar
Samuel Payne
Reviewer of Theatre in the North, including releases of classic film and television.

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