Barrowland Ballet - Chunky Jewellery

Tramway, Glasgow

four stars

Mother’s Day. International Woman’s Day. Current events that lend a piquant, poignant context to the premiere of Chunky Jewellery at Tramway on Saturday.

In truth, Barrowland Ballet’s unflinchingly honest - and deeply personal - plunge into the highs and lows of being a single mother, trying to keep a professional career on the go, would get under your skin at any time.

Add in the pressures of caring for ageing - and indeed dying - parents and you’re looking at an emotional rollercoaster many folk will find painfully familiar.

What gives this two-hander its overall feel-good factor, however, is the feisty, funny energy that underpins the long-standing friendship between Natasha Gilmore and Jude Williams, co-creators of the piece along with its director Ben Duke (of Lost Dog acclaim). 

Spoken text, song and choreographed movement come together, often humorously, as the on-stage duo work out how to show us who they are and what they’ve been going through.

At first, all they have is a title: Chunky Jewellery. They reckon that when women get to a certain age, they become invisible - and only the sight and sound of big, brash, clunking beads and bangles say ‘I’m still here!’ to those around them. They make this notion laughable, but as they conjure up episodes from each other’s lives, a darker mood creeps in.

Shared memories encompass loss of loved ones, the fear of failing as a mother, and as a joined-up human being - not even able to ask for help. The sequence where the very word ‘help’ sticks gurgling in Gilmore’s throat is truly gut-wrenching.

Williams herself knows how that clench of despair feels. It informs the powerful music that wells up in her, even as Gilmore’s wrenching and stretching dance moves speak volumes of inner turmoils.

This mutual empathy sees them singing together, dancing together, supporting each other in unshakeable friendship - and makes Chunky Jewellery genuinely moving and life-affirming.