International festivals can easily feel detached from their host city. In bringing together artists from all over the world, the local gets lost in the mix. But at Transform, the character of Leeds is baked into the programme.
This is particularly true of the two shows I see this year. Secrets (★★★☆☆) at the Warehouse in Holbeck, created by Icelandic artist Ásrún Magnúsdóttir, has been made with and entirely performed by young Leeds-based artists, while Australian art collective Aphids have re-created their show Oh Deer! (★★★★☆) at Leeds Playhouse with a mixture of the original cast and local performers.
The concept of Secrets is in its title: Magnúsdóttir has collected confessions from hundreds of young people in both Leeds and Reykjavík. These admissions, which range from the banal to the heart-breaking, are the raw material for an evening of songs performed by a collective of talented youngsters. Some tracks focus on recurring themes, so there’s the friendship song and the sex song. But other tunes highlight the glorious eclecticism of the secrets submitted.
The secrets themselves are largely unsurprising, with little new to reveal about the teenage experience. Common perceptions of the challenges of adolescence are reaffirmed, as we hear about bullying, identity struggles, family turmoil and mental ill health. As a premise, it’s somewhat slight and underexplored.
But the melodies are infectious, with lyrics that are witty, mischievous and sometimes just enjoyably silly (sample chorus line: “I get chills in my ass”). And the performance is a brilliant showcase of local talent, giving a platform to a multiskilled cast of musicians, singers and spoken-word artists who propel the show with their charisma. Though the secrets may often be dark, the experience itself is joyous.
Aphids bring a similarly light touch to another universal theme: death. Death is everywhere and nowhere in our culture. As demonstrated by the lineup of fictional orphans in Oh Deer!, we love to represent those who have suffered loss – as long as they don’t talk about their grief. Unpicking this cultural hang-up, Aphids create a forum for some of the messiness and complexity of losing a parent.
The show is part fancy dress party, part group therapy session. A collection of performers who have all lost a parent gather on stage, dressed as orphans from popular culture. There’s Annie, Elsa, Frodo – a whole host of plucky parentless kids who have dusted themselves off and done extraordinary things. Followed by a camera, the performers are directed to act out scenes, slipping back and forth between the fictional characters they are inhabiting and their own experiences of loss.
The performance pokes away at our culture’s strange orphan fetish, which it undercuts with brutally honest glimpses of the reality of bereavement. The performers drop small but telling details, which are often equally funny and devastating. But they also leave plenty of space around their topic, as if to acknowledge the impossibility of ever being comprehensive. Through this delicate, simple and playful approach, Aphids make room for a real reckoning with what grief means.
Transform festival continues until 22 October in venues across Leeds.
