PLUCK for Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage
A short film
PLUCK, meaning spirited and determined courage, is the first of a trilogy of short intergenerational dance theatre films by Eleesha Drennan Dance, created in collaboration with Helm Films. Pluck plays with the phenomenon of ‘time perspective’, and how time is sensed differently depending on the emotional circumstances of the moment.
PLUCK is based on the live performances of All The Time In The World, a dance theatre production funded by Arts Council England created in partnership with DanceEast and Sadler’s Wells. PLUCK is Supported by the Genesis Foundation’s Kickstart Fund
"Sky blue paint is peeling off the walls of the asylum chapel where we meet.
The room is filled with the scent of old flowers, layered with an echo of celebration and reunions.
Instant nostalgia.
A new beginning is also an ending. Today is Betsy’s 80th birthday. It’s the end of a decade and the beginning of one.
Fire from the burning candles on a birthday cake flicker, reflected in Dahlia’s glasses. Friends are humming that familiar tune.
Suddenly time speeds up.
I’m dancing through a time warp.
Is this real? How will my memory preserve this moment?
Make a wish.
My mind races backwards and forwards.
How did we arrive here?
Suddenly our hands touch and forever is now.
We slip apart.
Walls come between us, more paint peels away.
Another year.
I still remember you in blue, the kind that is reflected in the ocean on a clear day.
From the moment we are born we are disappearing, love anyway and dance because of it.
That takes PLUCK."
Credits for Pluck
Video filmed and edited by Helm Films Directed/Choreography by Eleesha Drennan
Director/Choreographer/Producer – Eleesha Drennan
Production Coordinator & Sound Operation – Michael Young
Music Composition – Jamie Masters
Sound Design – Sam Halmarack
Costume Design – Rike Zoellner
Costume Supervisor – Rosie Whiting
Film Runner – Harry Goodchild
Film locations – Asylum Chapel, Amp Gallery and Safehouse 2 managed by Maverick projects
Cast
Company of Elders performers
Betsy Field
Catriona Maccoll
Linda Lewcock
Amina Patel
Rachel Thompson
Dahlia Douglas
Kate Marshall
Isidora Joseph
Stephen Rowe
Eleesha Drennan Dance performers
Marla King
Paola Drera
Michael Marquez
Daniel Navarro Lorenzo