It’s the oldest story we know – or the most obvious; all together now: boy meets girl, boy loses girl… but what happens once boy gets girl?

The clue is in the title, perhaps too obviously, but fortunately it is not a self-fulfilling prophecy since Chris Fittock and Tmesis Theatre has come up with an inventive exploration of one couple’s relationship, craftily aided and abetted by director Javier Marzan from theatre company Peepolykus.

And talk about ups and downs. Given that the stage is set only with a table, set for dinner, it is quite amazing what can be done with that single piece of furniture, particularly since throughout, whatever they are doing or wherever they are, it is, quite clearly, a dinner table. So other than the two chairs and a kind of large scale mosaic of mirrors on the backdrop, it is all down to Elinor Randle and Yorgos Karamalegos, and they fare brilliantly. And make a meal of it, whether dancing, shouting, eating, making love or fighting. Everything is carried out with skill and passion, interspersed with silent pauses to do Harold Pinter proud. Right from the start, you’re thrown into the deep end as the scene switches rapidly back and forth between the two of them getting ready to go out.

One could be picky; it is very noisy at times, and almost as if human failings have been evenly doled out: she nags; he is stubborn; she drinks; he is obsessive. You also wonder which came first, his character or the fact that he is not English, since that may have a bearing on the dialogue; at one point, his speech is constantly corrected yet clichés must be one of the first things you get the hang of, through sheer repetition. However, the play is well structured, flashbacks being cleverly interposed with the depiction of an anniversary meal, and the humour, particularly the timing and control in the clowning and the acrobatics, is marvellous.

They say good things come in small parcels and this hour long production is lovingly presented; the audience lapped it up. So does it all end in tears or happily ever after?

Only one way to find out.

It's good to experiment

Disgruntled couples! Why, their resentment towards one another has long been the fodder of comedy, which is just one of the rich seams tapped in this new work from Hope Street-based Tmesis.

The company, comprising only of Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle, has its roots in physical theatre but has expanded its repertoire for this striking hour long play which can be seen at the Everyman until tomorrow.

It's an absorbing production, in which the Tmesis players become Poliakos and Charlotte, a couple unenthusiastically going through the motions of an anniversary dinner, beautifully balanced against scenes of the first flushes of their romance.

Geek alert - I was initially intrigued about this show as it shares its name with an old album by Bradford goth metallers My Dying Bride. No idea if this is deliberate or coincidental (the latter, I'd assume), but I can recommend this show here because there is plenty of laughs along the way - probably, really, almost at the expense of the viewer, who would have had to have never interacted with another human being not to see a bit of themselves in there.

The work is painfully well-observed by writer Chris Fitton, performed by a charming cast and fleshed out by Javier Marzan of comic theatre company Peepolykus (last seen in the city last autumn with Spyski at the Playhouse). A fantasy sequence near the end breaks that intense and incredibly realistic flow somewhat, which is a shame as until that point it beautifully and powerfully tells a very human tale.

Greek Pol's mix ups with English grammar, so cute to her at the start, eventually have Charlotte barking tired corrections at him as the teacher in her takes over. Her excitement at trying new wines on an early holiday has become a loud, irritating slup as she constantly overindulges to mask her unhapiness. We see Pol's big dream of opening a branch of his company in Paris eventually dashed, as he is forced to concede to his boss that "Milton Keynes would be more realistic". It's funny, but it almost hurts to laugh. A more touching exploration of love you might be hard pressed to find. Excuse me, I've got something in my eye.

ANIMA, the new show at the Unity, is a voyage beyond the imagination. At least, most people’s imagination.

Who could dream up a man wearing a large fish head, a running race that seems never ending, a dance that becomes a vicious fight, or a girl turning into a sort of bird?

All this happens in Anima, the latest from the Liverpool-based, two-person dance and movement company, Momentum.

Commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company, this third piece in a trilogy is their most ambitious piece yet, conceived by Momentum’s performers Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle, in collaboration with Tanya Khabarova and Malou Aurado.

It also uses a lot more technical gadgetry with projections on a large screen, smoke and bubble machines, and an ever-changing music score from Vergil Sharkya.

Its theme is the familiar one of dreams and reality, but with the dreams taken to the extremes.

It opens spookily enough with two caped and hooded figures emerging slowly. One, carrying a night light, wears a large fish head beneath the hood.

The figures sleep to be woken by a series of half-heard radio broadcasts whereupon they start running, running on the spot, but so hard and so furious and so long that with the moving background projections it becomes quite mesmerising.

The scenes become curiouser and curiouser, at one stage Karamalegos slowly pulling a huge skin up his body into which Randle climbs to emerge as a tiny, hungry little bird-like creature.

Karamalegos waves a cape over her and suddenly she is back in her original dress clutching a magic wand between her teeth.

There is a lot of humour in the piece, but also some frightening brutality. No more so than in a dance scene where a sedate dance develops into a rolling-on-the-floor fight between the two; in another scene, Randle becomes an aggressive sexual predator who takes bites out of Karamalegos.

As with their previous work, the two performers do not spare themselves. The result, however, is a piece of theatre that can leave audiences as breathless as the performers.

IT’S a sad truth that love affairs once started are doomed one day to die, unless it is that illusive final one that lasts forever.

The relationship depicted in The Dreadful Hours is not one of those.

Based around an anniversary meal shared by a couple who have forgotten why they are together, scenes of their broken romance are interspersed with those of their initial love.

Chris Fittock’s script is witty and well-observed, drawing on those familiar moments in relationships that you’re secretly ashamed of – picking up on your partner’s faults, becoming irritated by how loud they chew or how aggressively they cut their food.

His script is remarkably restrained – allowing the silences to express more than the words.

Performers Elinor Randle and Yorgos Karamalegos, of Liverpool-based Tmesis, brought their expertise in physical theatre to the show – most obvious in a series of abstract scenes symbolic of the couple’s decision to take the leap into a new relationship.

The set is minimal – a single white table and two chairs and a row of mirrors behind.

Simple changes of light track which stage of the affair is being related – a warm yellow for the first flushes of love, stark white for the unhappy end – while an energetic soundtrack contrasts with the diners’ near-silence.

Brave programming for the Everyman and it paid off, giving a platform for a show that, while unlikely to be to everyone’s taste, is an exciting and thought-provoking piece of theatre.

"Strong, innovative, and combining comedy and tragedy in a most creative fashion. Definitely worth the ticket price and will have your mind ticking as you sit down for dinner the following day"

Performing before a backstage littered with cardboard boxes, a garden swing and two chairs, Karamalegos carries the Mermaid-attired Randle on stage through a fug of dry ice and so begins a journey of discovery, emphasising the dynamics between the conscious and subconscious with fabulous, intricate choreography and an almost tangible desire and passion, through vivid characterisations and surreal interpretation.

Vergil Sharkya’s score punctuates each and every nuance and pose in the piece with either electric pulsating rhythm or calming strings to devastating effect, accentuated by the striking lighting, which adds further adventure to a piece already crammed full with inventiveness.

But it is the sheer energy both performers put into their routines that is astonishing. Their perfect timing, particularly in the opening section of the piece, lives long in the memory, as each character’s movement is mirrored faultlessly by the other at breakneck speed. Indeed, the whole show is one of great frenzy, counter-balanced by displays of controlled aggression, culminating finally into an outpouring of emotion and angst until equilibrium and serenity are found, as roles reverse then unify.

Mesmerising and enlightening, Tmesis Theatre's burgeoning reputation for producing all that is good in the world of dance is nothing if not exemplified still further with Anima. The spontaneous enthusiasm and appreciation demonstrated by the sell-out audience at its conclusion surely bodes well for their future.

BIZARRE things often happen in dreams and they certainly do in the dreamworld of Anima, the latest production from the Liverpool company Tmesis Theatre.

The Liverpool Culture Company commission finds its two performers, Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle, entering that strange abstract world of dreams. The result is electrifying with amazing events created with apparently limitless imagination and energy.

Since last shown as a work- in-progress there have been changes, including a new opening and a new set. But the mixture of the comic and the harrowing remains intact. The stage is littered with cardboard boxes as Karamalegos enters carrying Randle dressed as a mermaid. She squirms across the floor as he busies himself with the boxes.

She strips to vest and panties and the two are suddenly fighting in a beam of light, then running, endlessly, running on the spot. During the hour-long piece we get a touch of martial arts, Randle flying, Karamalegos enveloped in a cocoon, Randle hopping about like a small creature and Karamalegos wrapped in a polythene sheet while being tormented on a swing.

There is the narrative oddity of dreams to link all the events, from the pleasurable (like Randle chasing soap bubbles) to the nightmare of violent attack and torture. It may not be conventional storytelling but it works. Yet Anima is not just about the undoubted skills of the two performers but the superb settings including atmospheric lighting by Phil Saunders, which uses neon strip lights at one point and an eerie score from Vergil Sharkya. featuring electronics as well as bird song and sea sounds.

It is a highly technical show but one which allows a freedom of movement from the performers as they crash into boxes during a struggle or fight beneath a swing. There are times, too, when it also looks dangerous.

Three other directors have contributed to the show but this third part of the trilogy of works from Tmesis Theatre has a unity of style very much its own. It is also the most astounding hour you are ever likely to spend in a theatre.

ANIMA, the new show at the Unity, is a voyage beyond the imagination. At least, most people’s imagination.

Who could dream up a man wearing a large fish head, a running race that seems never ending, a dance that becomes a vicious fight, or a girl turning into a sort of bird?

All this happens in Anima, the latest from the Liverpool-based, two-person dance and movement company, Momentum.

Commissioned by the Liverpool Culture Company, this third piece in a trilogy is their most ambitious piece yet, conceived by Momentum’s performers Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle, in collaboration with Tanya Khabarova and Malou Aurado.

It also uses a lot more technical gadgetry with projections on a large screen, smoke and bubble machines, and an ever-changing music score from Vergil Sharkya.

Its theme is the familiar one of dreams and reality, but with the dreams taken to the extremes.

It opens spookily enough with two caped and hooded figures emerging slowly. One, carrying a night light, wears a large fish head beneath the hood.

The figures sleep to be woken by a series of half-heard radio broadcasts whereupon they start running, running on the spot, but so hard and so furious and so long that with the moving background projections it becomes quite mesmerising.

The scenes become curiouser and curiouser, at one stage Karamalegos slowly pulling a huge skin up his body into which Randle climbs to emerge as a tiny, hungry little bird-like creature.

Karamalegos waves a cape over her and suddenly she is back in her original dress clutching a magic wand between her teeth.

There is a lot of humour in the piece, but also some frightening brutality. No more so than in a dance scene where a sedate dance develops into a rolling-on-the-floor fight between the two; in another scene, Randle becomes an aggressive sexual predator who takes bites out of Karamalegos.

As with their previous work, the two performers do not spare themselves. The result, however, is a piece of theatre that can leave audiences as breathless as the performers.

IT IS difficult to repeat a success. For the Liverpool-based dance company Tmesis Theatre, it was always going to be a problem to produce something as fine as its first show Tmesis.

That work was notable for being very different, one in which the two principals spent most of their time locked together as one.

Amazingly, their second piece Memento Mori is even better, a one hour, non-stop drama in which the two dancers constantly surprise. Based on the Orpheus legend, what one gets is an abstract, relationship-based story where the two dancers keep changing style and attitude to huge effect. That's partly thanks to a tremendous music track created by Paul Skinner and others based on unusual rhythms, quirky sounds, drums and even at one point, bagpipe music.

The dancers Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle, the founders of the company, just keep going, whether it is writhing on the floor, jumping, working as a duet or as solo artists. What is difficult to explain is just how unusual their dance movement is. For both there is a lot of acting, facially and bodily, some very curious body shapes and unusual couplings. The thudding musical score keeps things on edge while a lighting design from Phil Saunders - sometimes just red lights - adds its own drama.

Karamalegos and Randle were helped by physical theatre expert Tanya Khabarova in developing this work. But it remains very much their own. After reviewing dance for some 40 years, I can state categorically that Tmesis Theatre has an originality I have rarely seen before.

Tmesis Theatre with its second work has moved straight into the international league. Just catch them while you can.

The performance of Memento Mori was the most powerful, moving and jaw dropping performance I have ever seen in either theatre or dance. The show effected me in such a way that I was physically tingling with glee and awe from the start until well into my sweet dreams. I was not the only one and I would like to add that the words I right are not a worthy representation of what I felt and will feel about the performance.

The performance offered us the best in raw un-compromised emotion, devoid of any self-consciousness whatsoever; completely submissive to the expression. Performed by beautifully committed deep artists. Trying to find a clear narrative quickly became of no importance to me. This was not dancers dancing a dance and equally it was not actors doing a play. Rather it was like the most expressive dancers and actors had been morphed together then reduced to the pure essence of expression; something that a scripted performance has never achieved for me. It highlights the importance of communication being 90% nonverbal.

The use of seemingly uncomplicated imagery emphasizing the importance of the how and not the what. Not that it was not technically brilliant it was! but they had used technique as a tool not as an end itself. The movement at times came from deep within the performers and you can only watch in amazement and anticipation as it organically climax’s through physical manifestations, reminding me of the healing ritual from the Shaw shank redemption. This powerful, gesture driven movement is what I refer to in my chi exercise (choreographic journal) The show carried an atmosphere of raw sexual energy of intense exploration, which transcended the idea of love and passion to its truest form. The beauty and the pain. The sparse costumes facilitated this as did the performers command of actions such as toe sucking which in the wrong hands would be nothing more than shocking. But they had moved passed the surface finding an ultimately deeper resonance within the audience.

This level of intimacy was pivotal to the success of the performance, the bonded relationship of the duet was staggeringly beautiful inspiring, moving and envious. Which provided a platform for the contact work they undertook. As an audience member it is incredibly moving to be witness to such intimacy and inspires you to find something similar in our own relationships.

The unfathomable depth of emotion was juxtaposed with a sense of fun, and lighthearted improvisation, which tickled me affectionately.

The diversity of the soundscore made you feel as if there were a talented DJ at the helm; almost like listening to a john peel session you didn’t know hat was coming next, Royksopp to opera – beautiful in its own right.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the ancient Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus composed poems and songs that moved stones and trees. He married Eurydice, who was fatally poisoned by a snake bite. Orpheus travelled to the underworld realm of Hades to fetch her, but was instead presented with an apparition.

Not that you'd guess much of that from this show. I got that Eurydice died, and I got that Orpheus had reached Hades because the lighting went red, but that was about it. Not that this was necessarily a bad thing. Far from it in fact.

Yorgos Karamalegos as Orpheus and Elinor Randle as Eurydice pulled-off an hour of frenetic, highly energetic, and passionate dance that was an exhausting pleasure to witness. Though their interpretation of the story was highly abstract, this actually seemed to add to the greatness of the experience, as the viewer was invited to compare the action on stage to events from their own lives. Paul Skinner’s original soundtrack ably interwove diverse musical styles - from soaring operatic vocals to hip hop beats. The sparse costumes allowed for maximum freedom of movement, and this potential was realised with writhing, jumping and struggling the likes of which mere words could never hope to invoke. The packed theatre reacted with impassioned cheering and applause.

This performance marked something of a homecoming for Liverpool-based Tmesis Theatre, who are taking Memento Mori around Europe. The group formed in March 2003 after completing Hope Street's Physical Theatre Programme, and ‘Tmesis’ - their reworking of a speech from Plato’s ’Symposium’ - impressed critics that same year. On this evidence, the duo continues to go from strength to strength, and I eagerly anticipate their next production.

This review was originally in German and is presented here as translated by Google

For a long time it is also supraregional well-known that Wuppertal is the center of the dance theatre. Pina Bausch and also Mechthild Yorgos Karamalegos and Elinor Randle Grossmann, member of many years of the building CH ensemble, are only two names, which brought it world-wide to fame. That the large ones of the category cannot however only hinreissen a public, one could experience that on Friday, 17 February 2006, times again in the Café ADA. In the framework that already for some years in the ADA taking place cultural meetings got Mehmet Dok, the operator of the Cafe ADA, with the group of Tmesis Theatre the piece of dance of "Memento Mori" to Wuppertal.

Seventy minutes ballet, Pantomime, theatre and dance - even dance theatres of the finest one - to the spectators in the almost completely occupied hall one ordered. Already as the guests, had begun the participants their history of birth, love, death and reon purchasing entered the area. Those actually not their history was, but that one of Orpheus, the marvelous singer and musician, and Eurydike, its pretty wife. And who also only a few lines of the legend knows, felt already after few minutes perfectly transferred into the Tragikomoedie.

One dipped completely fast into Orpheus world and could only be astonished at the outstanding body control and the large beauty of the two dancers. Because without only one break they stated lives in this evening to Orpheus and Eurydikes. Lived it with all their strength, their feeling and their taenzerischen ability - until finally to the bitter end.

But the conclusion pleased the attentive spectator in the ADA particularly well. Because after Orpheus its loving finally from the dead realm, which was allowed to fetch dark underworld, he committed a terrible and extremely fatal error: It looked in its large fear back whether it also followed it. That it was not allowed to look however to the rear, was the condition, on which it should receive the life back.

If innumerable operas the true end of history: "the Gods remained inexorably" took over, then was vergoennt the two loving in Tanya Khabarovas version renewed meeting. In the form of two lights in the dark area. Approximated, found and joyfully by the hall danced. As the L(i)ebenden had once done it.

Irish Times

Beautiful sensitivity...seduces us into it's unexpected world.

The Guardian

Rarefied…intriguing…pure and beautiful…performed with exquisite precision.

Liverpool Daily Post

Totally mesmerising.

Sensual, slow-motion movement explores this super close love affair with charm and wit.

A tale of universal significance.

Tmesis is an unashamedly philosophical piece, explored through evocative music, stylised tableaux- and most effectively through the gritty acrobalance skills of the performers.

Manchester Evening News

An astonishing work... their intimate, intricate choreography is a joy to watch.