Gecko performer David Bartholomew writes about his first time working with the company and the process of creating MISSING, coming to Lighthouse on 19 & 20 April.

Once upon a time in a far away land called London…
The Beginning
Coming from the circus this project was a comeback to my physical background. I have participated in contemporary circus and dance creations before, also working with physical theatre people such as Marcello Magni and Kathryn Hunter. Although the past few years I have dedicated myself to text-based theatre productions it had now been a while since I had wanted to come back to physical based performance. Working with Gecko was therefore a great opportunity.
Not having lived in London I hadn’t seen Gecko’s shows before but had heard a great deal of good about them from my fellow actors. But truly I did not know what to expect other than ‘Physical Theatre’.
As soon as the audition began I felt in the right place since we began with movement. Whilst in the audition room you could feel that Amit [Lahav, Gecko Artistic Director] was a good leader, had a solid creative background, preparation and an incredible team. A few of the team were present and that was a very comforting feeling.
I was surprised how intense the physical-emotional preparation was, the body being used as a tool for expression. Amit led us through different exercises exploring movement and how it can change into emotion. We then improvised scenes, explored rhythm and choreography. I discovered that his energy, guidance and sensibility were unique and thought that I must work with this man and his team.
It just felt right. I also felt that the curiosity was reciprocal and I even got to play accordion for them.

Ipswich Beginnings
Upon arrival in Ipswich I was welcomed as part of the family on the first day! Ryan Perkins and I were the two new performers to join the company. We went straight to work on intense physical and emotional training. Almost from the start the work on choreography began. In the beginning an everyday routine was held.
Much still remained a mystery. How would we build the show? Put the pieces together? Above all, what was this show about? I believe that was the main question that was in everyone’s mind.
“A Woman who’s soul is decaying.” was basically what Amit told us. Maybe a little more. We wanted to know more. Did we have to at this point? I was curious to discover how we would create this dream that has been in Amit’s mind for years.
He had explained that they worked on the show before, and wanted to use ideas found and developed in the first draft, but the reason he did not want to give us too much information was that he wanted to leave things open for our creativity. He was going to lead us into it step by step, giving us more information as we went along.
This piece had been put together before and it would be rebuilt on an existing skeleton. You could feel it amongst other things in the complicity between Amit, Georgina, Chris, and Anna who had been there before.
It was very important to me that this piece was the result of a long creative process and I was very grateful to have been chosen to be part of the new team. I was impatient to find out how Amit worked so I could figure out how I could contribute to this creation with my experience.
On the first day a question was asked: “Why is your soul decaying?” It was answered by all of us in our closed seven-person circle. We first shared our thoughts with a partner and then this partner shared it with the rest of the group. The question and the answers had a profound resonance in all of us and were essential to begin the work.
We trained physically. Played games. Did preparative exercises for body and emotion. We had to get to know each other first. Eventually these games were used to get closer to the characters or situations of Missing. The introduction was slow and then we attacked the play!

We began exploring scenes frequently, starting with a simple situation. Very often based on exploring movement within an everyday scene from life. For example having a doctor examining Lily, who is our main character. The scene begins in a normal way but we soon discover that the doctor has unusual ways of examining the patient and she has surprising symptoms. A wife and husband’s evening in front of a television becomes a choreography of the soul, revealing the truth about their feelings towards each other, etc.
The most extraordinary thing during this creation process is that everything is being approached through play and lightness. This is a fantastic way to work and Amit strongly encourages it.
With Gecko I am also working with puppets which I have not done a lot of in the past. This has been an amazing discovery. I am still curious how the puppetry will develop.
I love that in this form of theatre one must be part of everything: be a dancer, a puppeteer, an actor, a stagehand moving the props around and bringing them to life. I sometimes have the illusion that there are more than five performers on stage. I wonder if the audience will feel the same?
I can also clearly see that with Amit the creation will never end. Even now, after having spent one month in creation we constantly question and rebuild parts of the play. Amit clearly said that for him creating a play never ends. I personally think that this approach is essential to maintain a play alive through time. There is nothing more satisfying for a performer than to be constantly challenged. In my opinion this approach is a must for director, actor and spectator. A constant research is priceless.
Simple ideas are developed to their limits and even further. I think when you go beyond that something unique happens. When you have the feeling that there is no more to be found is precisely when you have to work the hardest. It’s an extraordinary process. Terribly challenging but even more gratifying in the end.
