dressed
Battersea Arts Centre
London SW11

VICTIM, survivor, or both? That’s the perennial query when talk turns to those who’ve been through sexual assault and it’s the focus of dressed, 60 minutes of ethereal brilliance which dispenses with labels, reaffirms the nature of recovery and reminds that deep wounds can heal.

There’s flawless choreography, some haunting musical interludes, a little knockabout and daftly surreal humour, along with a prosaic justification for the piece’s creation.

The initial focus is on costume designer Lydia Higginson, 19, when she was held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted during a robbery in a house where she was staying. She suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, gave away all her shop-bought clothes, retreated to an attic and made an entirely new wardrobe for herself.