Home ★★★ - The Recs

Nature can be a thing of beauty, yet can also be a bringer of terror. The Edinburgh Fringe back in full swing this year may make the COVID 19 pandemic seem like a distant memory, but we cannot deny that the coronavirus cost millions of lives and probably changed the way we live forever. Similarly, we face the ever-growing threat of human-caused global heating, bringing extremes of temperature and weather and rising seas.

A number of productions at this year’s festival are focusing on themes of our vulnerability at the hands of Mother Nature, including Temper Theatre’s Home. Inspired by Temper’s artistic director’s sense of belonging during COVID, and their family home in East Anglia being threatened by rising water levels, the piece tells the story of Imogen – a London city worker craving a more mundane life – who is suddenly swept back to the Fens of her childhood. As night descends, and rivers swell their banks, Imogen embarks on a fantastical journey which unlocks an entirely new perspective on the place she once called home.

Using physical theatre and dance that is married to a specially-composed soundtrack, the production also involves an inventive, multi-part set that is frequently manipulated by the production’s five performers to convey the narrative. From the start, the choreography and its execution is extremely engaging, and the staging comes into its own in certain segments, particularly in a scene where the impending flood threatens the family home at the centre of the piece.

Whilst the set – and the performers’ interaction with it – is in part a strength of the piece, it is also a weakness with the constant movement and restaging becoming distracting. And whilst elements of Home reflect a fantastic journey, certain sequences – such as the emergence of a Clingfilm-esque “spirit?” from Imogen’s nose, and the bouncing of illuminated digits between cast members – are more mystifying than mysterious.

Home is certainly an engaging performance tackling important issues, yet that sometimes gets a little lost in the stream.