Tonight’s performance of Video Game Theatre was something no one expected. But then, should we not expect the unexpected from these artists?
Actors Pat Gill and Simone de Rochefort (no relation), with direction from Clayton Ashley, threw themselves headlong into dance.
At times, the strain was evident on the faces of the actors. But Gill and de Rochefort have reportedly been training for years for just this performance.
“I can’t believe it’s finally here,” Gill told me backstage. He was short of breath. “I was ten years old when I was first cast as Jaguar, and began intensive dance training. Even then, some people thought that ten was too old to start!”
Even as they starred in other acclaimed plays, de Rochefort and Gill continued to practice the moves that they would need for their one-night-only 2017 performance of Space Channel 5, Part 2.
De Rochefort was emotional when we spoke.
“I’m emotional,” she said. “It feels like it all went by so fast, and now we’ll never dance again.”
The physical toll on the actors was enormous. Last year there were concerns that Gill would have to drop out of the play entirely — a potential disaster. At the last minute, Gill underwent experimental nerve therapy and regained the use of his eyebrows.
And the result? A thoroughly moving performance, competent to the extreme. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
You can find previous episodes of Video Game Theatre on our YouTube channel: