Festival Launch Show, review by Robert Mooney

POSTED ON MONDAY 19 OCTOBER

Jabberwocky Market festival is something I look forward to every season and their launch night surpassed my expectations.

Featuring Kate Fox, Mush and Flex Dance, much of the subject for the performances came from personal experiences, making it that bit more unique, while Flex Dance, a group of dancers with learning difficulties, told a gripping story without the need for much speech at all.

Mush, a band with an odd but tuneful mix of musical instruments, played songs written from their own experience and while not what I would usually listen to, the mix of voice, piano, violin and electric guitar worked well. While many songs built suspense and an eerie feel, this brought more drama to the performance

Kate Fox, a regular on BBC Radio 4 and having performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as being Poet in Residence for The Great North Run, had a varied and comedic repertoire of poems, ranging from those about the North to Disability but also very random. I found that much of this was very relatable and the poems were extremely catchy, much like a song.

Flex Dance, based in Durham, told the very moving story of a man who had lost a big part of his life in his partner, however, the performance was very engaging and told a story without the need for many words. Given that the performers have some degree of learning difficulty, it wasn’t noticeable if you didn’t know already.

Overall, the launch night was extremely enjoyable and it was good to see some lesser known people getting to show their talents. A great way to launch a festival about just that.

– Robert Mooney