Regis Anima | Timothy McGowan and Metro Arts

Directed and written by Timothy McGowan, Regis Anima is a one-woman starring Tenielle Plunkett that explores five women unexpectedly connected, ranging from 9th Century Iceland to today.

Pioneering the form of verse, Plunkett is a natural storyteller and plays with her physicality to the extremes. She has a very soothing, dream-like tone which captivates the audience from start to finish and I bow down to her for learning all of those lines. Whilst Plunkett's physicalisation for each character was individualistic, unfortunately her voice did not always reflect her physical mannerism and thus, it felt like the characters were moulded together.

McGowan had an innovative use of the space, heightening thefrantic vs stoic nature of the characters. However, the text, whilststylistically very intriguing, was difficult at times to follow and it was easyto get lost in its repetitive, performative style.

Peter Keavy's lighting and projection design served its purpose, creating visceral imagery that supported each monologue. Unfortunately Kelsey Passlow's score was lost in the space as the volume of the keyboard was difficult to hear on opening night. I'm sure this will be fixed across the season.

Regis Anima is a new work with a lot of potential. With some refining they will be able to create an even more surreal and dreamlike reality that will stay with the audience long after viewing.

Virag Dombay saw Regis Anima on 19 November 2019. Regis Anima plays until 21 November at Metro Arts.

Director and Writer | Timothy McGowan

Performer | Tenielle Plunkett