Low Down

 Daniel Kitson's new story is a lament for his old flat, housed above the landlord's builders yard in Crystal Palace. Battered suitcases hold a store of memories that Kitson elucidates and explores in his inimitable style of story-telling. 

It's funny, sad, deeply human and weirdly nostalgic. Kitson shows himself yet again to be the master story-teller, creating a new genre of performance as he goes along. 

Review

 Daniel Kitson has moved house. This story documents his life in his flat from initially finding it, through endless unresolved run-ins with his landlord, to his moving out, and the final closing of the door and that chapter of his life. On the way, he discovers the truer meanings of "home" .  

The tale is made up from memories and reminisces stored in the battered suitcases with which he surrounds himself on stage. He himself generally sits in the midst of these lego-like blocks to recount his contemporary morality tale, though gadget freak he is, he does like to get down on the floor to play with  models housed inside some of the suitcases. (He clearly has a lot of fun putting these together and getting them to work, but they are not central to the performance, which is just as well in such a big venue since anyone sitting more than a few rows back is unlikely to see much of their inner workings, for which Kitson himself apologises.)

This is a truly memorable piece of theatre. The language is magical, the values he espouses to be applauded, the shrewdness of his observations never masked by his self-deprecation. He has a profound grasp of the language, and he uses it to maximum effect. The imagery and the imagination he conjures up  are as  beautiful as they are sensitive.  

Listening to Daniel Kitson story-telling is a very wonderful thing indeed. If you have not yet had the pleasure and the privilege, then you are missing out on what is undoubtedly among the best the fest has to offer.

Reviewed by mike fitzgerald 05/08/2008

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