Live Theatre
Presented by Apples & Snakes
Thursday 8 May 2014
For more information visit their website
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I walked through the doors of Live Theatre last Thursday night. The tag-line of ‘A humorous, musical, spoken word journey around the human anatomy, attempting to get the measure of modern life’ honestly didn’t really give me much of an idea but, as a matter of fact, it was pretty much dead on.
The introductory poem acted as a kind of disclaimer. It eased us into what would be a rather bizarre but brilliant night, if you’ve never thought of the human body in such a symbolic way as performers Ben Mellor and Dan Steele clearly have. I honestly didn’t know there were so many body puns one could make. I’ll die happier knowing that there are.
Mellor’s poems ranged from political to really a little crude – but in a good way, I assure you. Lyrics such as ‘What state of head are our heads of state in?’ and ‘I’m only a heartbeat away from death’s cattle, so I have to make sure that I pick the best battle.’ summed up my thoughts so perfectly that my friend and I have even quoted the second one since. Such honesty, raw emotion and really very beautiful.
As a ridiculous romantic, I think my favourite poems were the ones which discussed the heart and, surprise surprise as a The Smiths fan, pain. #torturedartist… No, seriously. Mellor’s poems are full of truth, and I couldn’t describe love in any better way than he does.
‘No longer capable of heartache, they swapped partners for football stickers.’ Made me so sad about teenage love, but it also made me think a lot about what that time in life is like. Does it make you grow? Or do you get stuck? I don’t know. But that was the point of the show for me anyway, making us think.
Now I have said a lot about Mellor’s words, but it would be wrong to write a review of this amazing show and not mention Dan Steele’s awesome sounds and impeccable showmanship, sporting a very attractive all in one skeleton suit for the entirety of the night.
If you get the chance to see Anthropoetry in the future I cannot stress how much you would be stupid to miss it. It is hands down one of the best things I have ever seen in the theatre, and that is by no means an exaggeration.
For more information about performances at Live Theatre visit their official website.
