Uprooted
New Diorama Theatre, London
★★★★

EPHEMERAL Ensemble’s company devised production about the destruction of the Amazon rain forest is an impassioned collage of theatrical techniques. Physical theatre, live music, dance, sound effects, versatile use of props and atmospheric lighting create a memorably striking impact.

Where this show goes beyond just being a sensory feast, though, is in its emphasis on the fundamental connection of women to the history, and protection of the forest ecosystem. Although largely non-verbal, a brief introduction clarifies the vital relationship of many Latin American women to their environment.

The connection is briefly explained before outlining the historic attempts to sever this bond. From colonial rule and church dictates — essentially enslaving women as a means to separate the land from its native inhabitants — to modern-day assaults and murders of women campaigning for their natural rights, the continuing injustice is highlighted.  

The bond between women and the land is shown to be explicit even in the use of language. Ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s comparison of Brazil to a virgin that every pervert lusts for is quoted as a powerful corroboration of the group’s theme.

This intimate bond is then explored through a series of scenes from girls innocently playing in the river to an actress representing the forest in a costume that comes alive with the dappled lights and movement of life beneath the foliage accompanied by nature’s music.

The harmony of the people living in the forest is destroyed by the entrance of chainsaw-wielding figures in alien-like welders’ masks. Their violence and destruction is powerfully depicted against a discordant sound-scape culminating in a particularly evocative representation of the female forest being stripped and violated.

Driven from the forest and resettled near a mine, with all dissent brutally repressed, the villagers face toxic waste and deadly landslides hauntingly depicted through physical theatre and audience involvement.

Ramon Ayres directs his committed cast with a profound sense of the injustice of a world ravaged by greed and misogyny, blending a wide range of performance skills into a captivating hour of theatricality from an original and thought-provoking perspective.

Runs until October 25. Box office: (020) 7383-9034, newdiorama.com.