Tongue and Groove

Annamation are a trio of wise women, with the voices of angels and a taste for low comedy. In their current show Tongue and Groove, fantastical, sometimes terrible tales are woven into and around one another. An abandoned child, cursed with a heart of wood, is lured towards his destiny by the stories that are told to him. Tales from different times and places are juxtaposed with impressive narrative clarity, backed by some wonderfully rollicking and haunting a capella harmonies.

The three Annas (Anna O’Brien, Susanna Willetts and Anna Conomos) combine effortless presence with staggering theatrical range. They seem equally happy revelling in the comic grotesqueries of The Grey Ones (one eye, one nose and one tooth between them) or making the poignant music that emerges from the forest grave of a murdered child. Their playful group physicality is frenetic and fearless, and they accost their audience like old friends.

In fact, the whole show has a festival air about it, with enthusiastic greetings and spontaneous dialogue springing up between performers and spectators. Some of its audience interactions and effects would probably flow more easily in a flexible shared space than on a proscenium stage facing a darkened auditorium. Still, Xanthe Gresham’s pacy direction keeps the stream of stories and silliness flowing, and the audience are clearly delighted to become part of the process of shaping and sharing the tales as they are told.

Tongue and Groove is an evening of witty and weird fables, underpinned by some serious messages about the threatened ecology of the planet and the human heart. By turns wacky, mischievous, vulgar, moving and profound, the company present a supremely confident exhibition of contemporary ensemble storytelling.

Tongue and Groove tours until March 2009: for details see www.annamation.co.uk