A deeply moving reflection on humanity, loss and healing
“I feel like I’ve just been stabbed in the heart”, was the first thing said by my friend who accompanied me to 201 Dance Company’s production of Sad Book. Based on Michael Rosen’s book of the same name, written following the death of his son, this stage adaptation combines dance, physical theatre, animation and an original score, writes Melina Block.
The Hackney Empire night featured live narration from Rosen himself. As he read aloud from his award-winning novel detailing grief, despair and eventually, hope, the cast of performers physically embodied his ideas and messages. It’s a hard watch; knowing that the former Children’s Laureate is revisiting what must have been some of the darkest moments of his life, but the show is all the more powerful for it.
It is not all despair, though, with glimmers of hope and ideas on how to find happiness in the little things offering a reprieve towards the end. The light balances out the dark, delivering a deeply moving reflection on humanity, loss and healing. Exploring such topics can sometimes result in melodramatic, hammy theatre. This is not the case with Sad Book. Everything, from the fluid and technically excellent dancing to the lovingly animated backdrop, is handled with sensitivity and nuance.
While this is, of course, an extremely personal story, Rosen’s words express his experience in a manner which somehow still feels universal. You do not have to have gone through the exact same things he has to be able to relate to the feelings he so effectively describes. 201 Dance Company really emphasises this, with the ensemble cast helping to drive home the idea that the human experience is, ultimately, a shared one.
I spoke with Andrea Walker, Creative Director of 201 Dance Company, about this project a couple months ago. His passion for Sad Book and dedication to this production was clear and after watching the final result it is safe to say he has more than delivered. I have not seen such a touching, tear jerking, but ultimately optimistic show in a long time. I challenge anyone to watch this and not be moved.
