Frozen Light is a company that creates original multi-sensory theatre for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Its intentionally small audiences become part of an immersive world in which they see, hear, taste,
smell and touch what is going on around them.
There is music, dance and singing, the songs at times specifically aimed at individual audience members, performers gathering and singing to them, including their name as they sing.
With subtle lighting changes and close-up, compelling sets, the audience find themselves not passively watching a performance but very much participating in it and part of its world.
When I reviewed Frozen Light’s The bar at the edge of time in 2023 I described it as “exhilarating… original… cool… fabulously detailed” (Louche and luxurious, Spring 2023).
Returning two years later to see their latest production, I wondered if they could manage to hit such heights again.
I needn’t have worried.
The Ancient Oak of Baldor is set in an early, mythical, primeval forest with the huge, beautiful old oak tree at its centre. The people of the forest, as rooted in this land as the tree, have gathered to witness “the great cracking”, when the tree opens up and we see what lies within.
A story of loss and renewal and readaptation unfolds as we see Elspeth, who was hoping to see Lars return on this day, engage with the grief of his non-appearance.
There are some amazing, thrilling moments. When there is a storm, you don’t just see and hear it – rain falls on your face, the wind wafts towards you and the thunder rumbles in your ear as the lights dim around you.
Sniff, touch, eat, drink
Smoky, burnt wood is brought close for you to smell and there is moss to feel and sniff. The sense of smell is the most evocative of the senses, able to retrieve deeply stored memories and emotions.
For me this recalled woodfires that burnt at evening cooking time when I was a teacher in rural Kenya many years ago.
A small plate of food and drink, with a variety of textures and scents, is brought for each person first to touch and sniff, and then to eat or drink if they wish.
The whole experience is truly immersive.
Frozen Light brilliantly and subtly guides their audience to engage with underused senses and deep memory at a very profound and contemplative level – something we 21st century urban sophisticates are usually very bad at doing.
The effect on those present was magical. The gradual rise in engagement of the audience members was a very powerful and moving thing to observe.
Mostly starting with some trepidation and nervousness about what was happening, each person was gently coaxed into this sensory world of beauty, drama, memory and new experiences.
The cast of just three – Jake Oldershaw, Ting-Ning Wen and Hazel Simmons – are not only a multi-talented bunch, singing, dancing, acting and playing instruments, but also highly expressive and sensitive performers who engage with their audience in such a way as to cause no alarm or distress.
They win their confidence with a display of great empathy and are very alert to any risk of unwelcome intrusions into people’s space.
It is a warm, kind and gentle performance, but also does not hold back from creating some startling and dramatic effects.
Kat Heath’s set design and the lighting and other technical effects are near perfect.
Ancient Oak is part way into a 50-venue tour. If you know anyone who you think could be part of the audience for this show, I cannot recommend it highly enough.
