The Vanishing Horizon

Idle Motion move from the pioneers of aviation to one woman's discovery of her past.
Cherwell School, Wed July 28th - Fri July 30th 2010

September 24, 2010
Vanishing Horizon is a visually stunning play about women in aviation. The history of women’s role in early flight is inter cut with the story of a young woman on a long journey in the present.

The play uses the subject matter to deliver a very moving exploration of how women’s wings get clipped, and the sacrifices that must be made for freedom. The story of an early female flight pioneer, who has been lost to the history books because her parents paid the press to hush her achievement up for fear she wouldn’t find a husband, was especially poignant.

The performance was extremely immersive, with the design aspects working well with the cast and plot to produce a genuinely captivating experience. The props were lovely – luggage becoming all the set they required – and used with charm and affection. The movement sections were also very well executed and the company work seamlessly as an ensemble.

While the physical performance standard was extremely high, and the company are fantastic at creating images that stay with you for a long time (the closing scene was especially delicious) I felt that the characterisation could have been developed more. Having said that, I was very impressed by the performances from the actresses playing the female aviator and grandmother characters, who fit a lot of impact into very few words. I also felt that the play would have benefited from the strands of the story being knitted a little more tightly together – the two story strands, while both gripping in their own right, didn’t mesh as much as I would have liked, especially during the middle of the play.

These are relatively small quibbles, and overall, Idle Motion have produced a utterly beautiful, heart tugging performance which is compelling and satisfying. I would wholeheartedly recommend the show.
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