The medieval splendour of Norwich’s St Andrew’s Hall is the setting for a premiere of a very modern piece of performance art.
Over the course of an hour four members of the Kaleider crew, kitted out with gloves, safety boots, and cordless power tools, construct a shiny metal sculpture that spans most of the nave of this grand old building.
As they work Verity Standen’s original score floats through the building, as evocative of whale song as the scaffold rib cage that emerges. It is very like a whale.
With the help of an intricate series of ropes and suspended water tanks as ballast, the piece comes alive at the denouement as the soundtrack gives way to 20 minutes of heavy breathing, and the four performers repeatedly strain on the strings to open and close the ‘lungs’ in the middle.
Put kindly, it provokes consideration of how we interact with nature, with the venue’s stunning wooden roof enhancing the oceanic metaphor as a sort of upturned boat. The ‘whale’ grows, breathes, and dies – still and quiet when the performers leave at the end.
Less favourable, it’s like watching a giant and well-engineered Meccano set being built in a particularly bougie spa reception, taking nearly 90 minutes to nudge us towards the not very revelatory thought that whales are good. And I’m no David Attenborough, but I’m not sure whales do human-style rhythmic briefing, more deliberate single intakes.
It’s always refreshing to try something different, but what happens here doesn’t justify the run time, and ironically lacks the intellectual or emotional scaffolding to push our buttons. There is physical spectacle, but no apparent depth.
- Kaleider: Requiem continues at The Halls, Norwich, as part of Norfolk and Norwich Festival until Sunday 17 May 2026.
