OneFourSeven

Dates and Locations

• Oval House, London
• South Street, Reading
• South Hill Park, Bracknell
• The Studio Theatre Leeds, Leeds
• Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham
• Bristol Old Vic Studio, Bristol

OneFourSeven, devised by the company was seen first as the result of an ACE-funded research period of three months at Oval House Theatre in late 2003. It was re-worked to tour the UK in the spring of 2005 thanks to another ACE grant. Dende Collective showed its inventive type of theatre outside London for the first time.

Using inventive design, which places the audience in the centre of the action, OneFourSeven takes place in the mind of a young immigration officer, Angelo Walker, as he descends into a world of waiting rooms and a journey into his past and future. The show is based on those tiny moments in everyone’s existence that are caught in between waiting for the grander moments of Life: birth, puberty, falling in love, ambition, marriage, death.

This is promising work from a young company who are intent on forging a unique voice for themselves… The evening has an endearing madness and a rare determination to play with theatrical form.

- Guardian

Following Angelo Walker's non-linear memories, he descends into a premature end through the onset of testicular cancer. Using eclectic choreography, stories, absurdist humour and a powerful, inventive characterisation, Dende Collective’s OneFourSeven is an evening of polyphonic physical theatre, full of strange people, beautiful images, carrots, and lots of numbers. The play transforms a small studio theatre where the seats are removed bringing to life a multi-purpose waiting room using numbered stools and rostra. The audience sits in a square leaving an area in the centre for the performers. At the same time, there are four rostras behind each one of the sides of this square where the audience is seated that is also used by the performers. Thus allowing the action to take place in the same manner as a surround sound system; around the spectator.

All props were made in cardboard by the Japanese Visual Artist Hiroe Komai.

Supported by Arts Council England, Oval House Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith and the Brazilian Embassy in London.