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Worm-Hole (Editor's Notebook)


Worm-Hole: An Introspective

By Robin Chase
29 September 2002

This is one of those occasions when words are never enough, but when words are all you have, you strive mightily for meaning in both form and fact.

As I write this, Niki's most excellent North American adventure is drawing to a close in Seattle, Washington, USA. It's hard to believe that almost three months have passed since Niki and Worm-Hole Production Manager Catherine Skinner began their Fringe-Festival sojourn through the heart of the continent in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

It's equally difficult for me to believe that it was nine weeks ago this very Sunday evening that I met Niki for the first time, following her final show in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was my second viewing of Worm-Hole, having sat transfixed and in awe during my first visit two nights earlier. I watched with even greater fascination during my second visit, and I was not alone in feeling the effects of Niki's outstanding performance, for that was the night she received her first-ever standing ovation.

I had corresponded with Niki via e-mail between those two visits, to congratulate her and to note with interest the scattered bits of information about her that were available at that time on the Internet. In her reply, she wished there had been more reviews (Worm-Hole never did get reviewed in the popular independent Fringe paper, The Jenny Revue), so I took it upon myself to write my own review, produce a flyer containing it to promote her final show and distribute it among the Fringe venues. Not sure what possessed me to do that, although as an editor/journalist, it was somewhat up my alley. (Shows the kind of effect an earnest "mum nun" can have on you, I guess.)

Anyway, after that second show, I spent a most enjoyable couple of hours in conversation with Niki and Catherine on the terrace outside the King's Head Pub where the Fringe wrap-up party took place, and I remember promising to do what little I could to promote her online during her other tour stops with posted reviews, messages in discussion forums, that sort of thing.

Oh, what big oaks from little acorns do grow ... because here we are nine weeks later with a website devoted to Niki, acting as a repository of reviews, news, photos and other information concerning her and her projects. And at times, I look back to that final weekend in July and just shake my head. How ironic that someone who works with words on a regular basis would be inspired by someone whose work is mainly wordless. (It seems that a movement is worth a thousand words.)

I've learned a few things I didn't know before ... for example, the power of the Internet to influence and to create a presence. I've also learned that although one may be merely slaving over a hot computer hundreds of miles from where the action is, that doesn't make him immune from experiencing the same highs and lows as the person on-site, especially where online messaging and reviews are concerned. Of course, with Niki and Worm-Hole, there have been so many highs that the lows are insignificant. But in the case of a couple of rather unfair low-blow reviews ... well, no cad stains the honour of our Lady Fair and gets away with it. (Niki says she loves it when I get angry.)

Yes, through all the daily online checks, message posting, review gathering, press releases, etc., etc. ... it's been one hell of a vicarious trip at my end. I can hardly begin to imagine the richness of the experience for Niki and Catherine through all the miles of prairie and mountain, through all the different cityscapes, and through all the new acquaintances they have made.

I wish to personally express my deepest gratitude to Niki for allowing me the privilege of sharing her journey ... and the beauty of it is, the journey never ends. There are still more stars to reach ... and still more dreams to come true.


Rebuttal & Rant

By Robin Chase
16 September 2002

LET'S GET IT "STRAIGHT", EH? --- In our Worm-Hole reviews from the Victoria Fringe Festival, we included a wholly-negative and somewhat caustic "preview" of Worm-Hole written by Colin Thomas, Theatre Critic for The Georgia Straight - the entertainment and arts weekly newspaper in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (See Worm-Hole: Victoria Reviews) The preview was published on the eve of the Vancouver Fringe Festival. It appeared that Mr. Thomas had attended a performance of Worm-Hole in Victoria where Niki received a Pick-Of-The-Fringe Award for Most Outstanding Performance in Dance or Physical Theatre as voted upon by audience members. Neither The Straight nor Mr. Thomas bothered to mention the award.

This lack of balanced reporting on the part of The Straight was of concern, but to give them the benefit of the doubt, it was very possible that even if they were informed of the award, the information may not have reached them by their deadline. However, I also took exception to Mr. Thomas' preview for two other reasons, feeling that a) he presented a very narrow perspective, and b) his criticism was based on a faulty premise. Consequently, I wrote a Letter To The Editor of The Straight which was published in their issue of 12 September 2002 as follows:

Fringe Fan Pans Review's Perspective
I enjoy a good critical review as much as anyone, but it would be helpful if the reviewer would speak from a broader perspective than that displayed by Colin Thomas in his preview of Niki McCretton's solo movement-based performance piece, Worm-Hole ("Pretasting 2002's Fringe Fare", Aug. 29-Sept. 5). Thomas, in essence, claims Worm-Hole to be a rip-off of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Frankly, Worm-Hole owes as much to Eugène Ionesco, Bertolt Brecht, William Shakespeare, The Bible and Monty Python as it does to Beckett. What modern stage work doesn't owe something to the past?

In drawing his comparison, Thomas essentially describes Beckett's work as one in which someone is waiting "for God, for some external validation or embodiment of meaning". I hope that's not all he gleaned from it. Beckett utilized that basic premise as a vehicle by which to drive home his viewpoints on the political and socio-economic ideologies of his day - not just as a commentary on religion or unfulfilled redemption.

Worm-Hole is a multilayered creation and the basic storyline described by Thomas is only one layer. Audience members and reviewers alike from Prague to Edinburgh to Victoria have managed to strip away those layers and find praise. It is unfortunate that Thomas was unable to do the same.

--- Robin Chase, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Worm-Hole: The Music

By Robin Chase
2 September 2002

As many audience members have already noted, one of the most effective components of Worm-Hole is the music - from the pre-show music through the show's soundtrack itself to the after-show track. Some people have inquired about the music and have wondered how they might be able to purchase CD copies. Well, for the pre-show and after-show music, you shouldn't have much of a problem. If the CDs aren't available from your local retail outlet, you should be able to order them. The original show music is another matter altogether.
PRE-SHOW MUSIC --- The pre-show music is by Morcheeba, a British band made up of two brothers - Paul & Ross Godfrey - and original lead vocalist Skye Edwards, who is described as being able to "draw tears with her throat." They got their start in 1995 with a 12-inch release entitled Trigger Hippie and followed that up in 1996 with their first album called Who Can You Trust.

Worm-Hole's pre-show music - which many people have described as an outstanding musical setup for what is to come in the show - is from Morcheeba's second album, Big Calm, released in 1998. This is a band with a strong following and, just like our Niki, they have no compunction about taking risks and going in new directions.

Morcheeba followed up Big Calm in 2000 with their third album, Fragments of Freedom, and celebrated their fourth CD release entitled Charango in July 2002 - adding yet another layer to their multi-faceted musical landscape. More information concerning Morcheeba can be obtained from their Official Website and their Original Website.

ORIGINAL MUSIC --- The original "soundtrack" music heard during Worm-Hole is by English musician Mark Bradbury who has also composed the original music for Niki's next project, Heretic. For those who have inquired about obtaining CD copies of this music, we can only tell you that the music is not available for public distribution at this time.

AFTER-SHOW MUSIC --- The after-show music is a spiritual called Down To The River To Pray by Alison Krauss and is from the soundtrack to the motion picture O Brother, Where Art Thou? And if you want to know all there is to know about the song, just do a web search of the title and you can have your pick of over 1,700 webpages! You can also visit the official CD soundtrack website at O Brother Music. This track is among those offered for audio preview.

Worm-Hole: 2001 News Article

ARCHIVE EDITOR'S NOTE --- The following news article, only discovered online in January 2006, was gleaned from the archives of This Is The West Country - an online news service of newspapers in South West England owned by the Newsquest Media Group. The article was published originally on 31 August 2001.

NIKI'S FIVE-STAR PERFORMANCE --- Taunton's Niki McCretton has been wowing critics and audiences at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Sell-out performances of her absurdist and surreal one-woman show, Worm-Hole, which she presented at Taunton's Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre earlier this year, have earned her the highest acclaim at the Festival - a prestigious Five-Star Rating. Her "powerfully expressive performance" has inspired critics to superlatives such as "breathtaking" and "stunning" while the show is rated as "a masterpiece of physical theatre".

As a result, Worm-Hole has received interest from several international theatre festivals which Niki hopes to participate in next year. The "fantastically-crafted" production is directed by Judy Preston who lectures in Drama at Taunton's Richard Huish College. It also features an original musical score composed by Mark Bradbury who teaches at Wellington School. Niki, who is General Manager of the Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, will soon start work on a new solo show which will be premiered in Somerset next March.


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Webpage Last Updated 15 May 2007