JUST as the light emerges from darkness as a photographic image is revealed in the red murk of a dark room, so does Gerda Taro’s all-too-brief life story in Idle Motion’s new play.
She has been overshadowed in the annals of war photography by her lover, the celebrated Hungarian Robert Capa. Both died in action, but only Capa attained recognition as the supreme combat photojournalist. Gerda, the first female photojournalist to cover war on the front line, perished at 26 in the Spanish Civil War, yet her pioneering role has since been forgotten.
Oxford company Idle Motion address that oversight in Shooting The Light, recounting the ground-breaking, unsung deeds of the German refugee who fled to Paris, met Capa, adopted the name Gerda Taro and joined him in uncovering Franco’s atrocities in Spain, bringing an independent spirit, political passion and courage to her work.
The cast of five presents a multi-media, ensemble-devised performance that has all the best ingredients of modern theatre, overseen by director Kate Stanley. The storytelling combines history and mystery, romance and danger in two parallel stories, one re-tracing the photographic paths of Capa (Tom Radford) and Gerda (Sophie Cullen), the other reconstructing how brother Cornell Capa (Nathan Parkinson) strove to locate a lost suitcase, containing a particularly significant Capa roll of film (and by serendipity all Gerda’s long-lost photography).
Grace Chapman and Ellie Simpson complete a cast that uses superlative physical theatre skills, courtesy of movement consultant Dan Canham, complemented by Ellen Nabarro’s set design of gauze screen with slatted windows that open up as doors or with props behind them. Greg Cebula’s lighting and Chris Bartholomew’s sound design are of the highest quality too.
The story is fascinating, the performance intriguing, moving, romantic, poignant and exhilarating all at once. If you missed last week’s show, Idle Motion return to Yorkshire on June 19 to stage That Is All You Need To Know, the story of Bletchley Park and the Enigma code breakers, at Harrogate Theatre. Make haste, book tickets now on 01423502116 or at harrogatetheatre.co.uk
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