A live action graphic novel fusing martial arts and hip hop, The Five and the Prophecy of Prana is an exciting new touring production from Blue Boy Entertainment.
Five young troublemakers are taken in by sensei Wang Tang, learn discipline via training in martial arts, and become warriors in the fight against evil. The play is manga brought to life, with comic book panels projected onto the back screen and cunningly placed set boxes. The graphics are beautiful, and fantastically evoke both the spiritual world of Wang Tang in the classic Japanese landscapes, and the violent world of bar brawls.
The story unfolds in voice over, with the characters miming the words as if they’re in a badly dubbed kung fu movie. It’s a cunning way to get around the fact that the company are dancers rather than actors, and maybe if the theatre’s sound system was up to it this would be an effective technique, but unfortunately the speakers of the Playhouse simply can’t cope. The explanation of the back-story that opens the play is completely inaudible because there’s too much distortion and the words are drowned out by the hip hop beats, so much of the narrative is lost. And sadly, when the recorded dialogue actually can be heard, the acting of the pre-recorded voice overs is so wooden that you wish the distortion would return.
Despite this it’s still impressive to watch – the performers are incredible, and the melding of the grace and athleticism of hip hop and martial arts really works. The stand out sequence comes towards the end when one of the Five chases and fights with the Ghost (one of the baddies), who eerily appears and disappears from various points of the set by means of being played by two masked dancers. It works incredibly effectively, and the fluidity and precision of movement of the dancers are great to watch.
Ambitious but flawed, The Five and the Prophecy of Prana has some exciting ideas but doesn’t quite manage to create a satisfying narrative as a whole. The set design, dancing, and choreography can’t be faulted, but as a cohesive story it leaves a little to be desired. ★★★☆☆ Deborah Sims 08/11/14
