What If I Told You?
It’s hard to pigeonhole What If I Told You. Pauline Mayers’ production isn’t solely theatre, dance, or storytelling. At the risk of sounding pretentious, all three aspects combine to produce a series of narratives. And it really, really works.
Pre-show, I expected to join a seated audience and watch a traditionally-formatted, yet thematically progressive show. Not the case. On arrival, we were greeted by Mayers herself, who asked us to place our bags, coats and drinks on a table and stand with her in the centre of the room. This set the tone for the rest of the performance – nothing could be predicted.
Mayers told us her story – an engaging tale of auditions at Rambert dance school, a trip to stay with family in Barbados and, the most prominent feature, racist discrimination. Mayers invited us into her story, weaving between our bodies, instructing dance moves to us, prompting us to form a collective picture of Barbados. She also incorporated historical instances of racial injustice, forcing us to consider how past prejudices inform contemporary ones. What’s more, she invited us to each other’s stories. This involved hugging complete strangers and tracing imaginary outlines around each others bodies, a unexpectedly warming experience. Among sobering tales of discrimination, Mayers forced us to recognise each other’s existence as fellow human beings.
A post-show discussion, ran by poet Khadijah Ibrahim, was equally enthralling. Audience members sat in a circle, sharing what the performance meant to us, and how we relate the issues raised to our everyday lives.
In times of Trump and Brexit, What If I Told You is very much needed. Mayers tackled the sidelined realities of racial injustice, while creating a safe space for the audience to join her. By bravely inviting us into her personal history, Mayers fully immersed the audience. I was disappointed when the lights came on, I wanted the experience to continue indefinitely. Hopefully, I’ll get to see another of Mayers show’s soon - I applaud her for such a clever, hard-hitting performance. I’m excited to see what she magics up next.
