Seven Tables

“I came out into the first-floor foyer of Baltic to find a woman moving between and over several plain wooden Ikea tables, arranged in a stacked-jigsaw. […]

Slow but mesmerising to begin with, Gillian de-assembled the table fort, and laid the tables out individually in the space, before covering six of them with white sheets and pouring a jug of water over another.

This last event may not sound shocking out of context but following the care and diligence with which the performer had laid out the rest of the space, almost slow- dancing with the tables, this act of apparent defiance, though performed with the same controlled quiet, seemed to brim with suppressed anger and rebellion.

Further disruptive acts followed, with the result being a piece of work that felt like a window into a private and restrained breakdown in the face of expectations. Though only an hour, the piece certainly earned its description as durational.

Slow, steady and considered, it required patience and faith, but paid off brilliantly and felt immensely satisfying as a whole piece of work.”

Matt Miller. Stage Review. NARC Magazine (30.04.17)