The ensemble declare that their work is driven by a theme or a question. They seek to find fact- based stories and shine a light on social issues that tend to be entirely unknown or even deliberately hidden from view, despite the havoc that they can create for the environment or the communities.  

Much as in ‘REWIND’, their previous offering, ‘UPROOTED’ also deals with issues that took place in South America.  While ‘REWIND’ was based on the lives of those who suffered under the oppression and abuses of power by Latin American dictatorial regimes in the 1970s, in this case, it is about the devastation suffered by people due to the toxic mud slides when two dams broke in Brazil in 2015 and 2019, contaminating a huge area and devouring whole villages with tons of iron ore tailings and sludge. 

As described in their catalogue: - “On the banks of rivers flowing through Latin America, steel blades arrive to tear up the roots of communities. While territories are carved up by contracts inked in blood, floodwaters disappear homes and people.

Shirley Krenak

Director Ramón Ayres: - “The ideas for UPROOTED sprouted last year, at Complicite’s Mudlarks residency, in a chat that I had with the incredible Shirley Krenak, activist and co-founder of ANMIGA (The National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warrior of Ancestrality).

Shirely Krenak’s is a significant activist, best known for her work preserving traditional knowledge and protecting her people’s rights. She wrote “Borun Rhua Kuparak” and it is relevant that her community was directly affected by these disasters.   In 2015, the Marina Dam gave way and overwhelmed the village of Bento Rodrigues in Minas Geraes, Brazil, polluting the environment and rivers all the way downstream. 

Vanessa Guevara Flores and Evglo Belafonte

It is still considered the worst environmental disaster in Brazil’s history.  Then, this horror was compounded when, in 2019, the Brumadinho dam also suffered a catastrophic failure and destroyed the entire village of Córrego do Feijão (in Belo Horizonte- also in the state of Minas Gerais).  270 people were killed and more than 20 other municipalities were affected, with the contamination spreading over a vast area, even reaching the Paraopeba river.   

                             Bento Rodrigues- Minas Gerais- Brazil  2015

Both these tragic events involved the mining companies of Vale & BHP Billiton and legal action for compensation and measures to get them to address the environmental damage are still ongoing.  Right now, one such trial is taking place in London against BHP Billiton where they stand accused of woeful negligence.  It is therefore very timely for the Ephemeral Ensemble to shine a light on these issues at this particular time.

The director Ramon Ayres turned to theatre almost by chance when he was still in high school: - 

“I come from São Paulo state in Brazil where I used to live next to the school and took part in everything. The school had some community projects and my physics teacher thought he would create a theatre. I put my name down and the names were just picked out of a hat- No auditions! I got chosen and I went there on the first day and I remember [how I felt] going home. High school was in the evening, so people could work during the day, and I remember having to miss school due to the theatre. My friends said I had been bitten by the acting bug but I decided to carry on and became an actor.  The theatre was always in the evening, so I had stopped showing up to class. Finally my head teacher suggested I should go to high school in the morning instead, so I could manage it all. It was hard as it was the last high school year but I was so in love with the theatre that I did it all.”

Ramon Ayres- director

Now an integral part of this troupe, Ramon has found his path.  They may be called the Ephemeral Ensemble but there is little ephemeral about this troupe. This is theatre that uses raw physicality, playing to all the senses and the effects last a long time. The experience is so all encompassing and immersive that it is interesting to find out how they put their show together.

Ramon: - “We don’t write the show. We spend a lot of time researching and we connect a lot with communities – we talk a lot and take loads of notes of the research and what we get back from the communities and then we go[straight] to the rehearsal space. There we try loads of things and we film it, we repeat it over and over again and re-film it – experimenting all the time and making connections. Today was the first performance [ of UPROOTED] and we have been tweaking and changing a little bit here and there, because our goal is to find the truth of what we saw in the experience with those communities and to keep trying to put it together.  We [also] try to see how it will resonate with the audience, because it is super complex and the process is a bit chaotic as well!

Because we don’t use texts, we create the show as we physically do it, gradually building up the narrative. So, it takes a long time to come up with ideas, like using a plastic film to create the idea of the mud slide, and the vacuum it leaves. Our challenge was to create the effect of the mud reaching the river and the river overflowing carrying away houses, people and animals, we wanted to convey this sensation to the audience.”

The use of the plastic film works beautifully, as much as for the original clear waters of the river, as later, transformed into the catastrophic wall of toxic sludge. Within it all, the ensemble cast writhe and dance to capture the horror. A large plastic bin lit from within works as a home, a small maquette of a house works as a dwelling being swept away, while decorated pipes become trees smothered in indigenous medicinal fruits and herbs dying in the pollution. It is very effective overall. The dance movements in particular are beautifully, in particular those by the talented star, Vanessa Guevara Flores whose background in dance comes through in her graceful movements.  The result is very moving.

Vanessa Guevara Flores

All the cast are vital to the full effect and in particular the use of lighting, by Josephine Tremelling, and the live music and compositions of the gifted Alex Paton. He moves seamlessly from one instrument to another, playing an array of different flutes, some originating in the Andes (and others in China), and he alternates them with his electric guitar, and sound effects. The overall effect is superb and enhances the experience complementing the action on stage.

Alex Paton

There is hope that this production will also travel abroad and be as successful as REWIND that was performed over 75 times in 3 continents, including a sell out run at the new Diorama Theatre in London.  REWIND was lauded by The Guardian as one of the top 10 shows of 2024 and it received the Summerhall’s Rewind Award 2023. 

The 60-minute show UPROOTED will be at the New Diorama Theatre till October 25^th 2025.  

UPROOTED

Play devised by the company and the director. 

Director: Ramon Ayres / Lighting Design - Josephine Tremelling / Music and Sound Composition - Alex Paton / R&D Devisers - Andres Velasquez, Chloe Shyan Chua, Felipe Jara, Luiza Kessler and Paolo Zaccuri / Dramaturgy Assistance - Kirsty Housley and Almiro Andrade Commissioned by New Diorama in a co-production with Ephemeral Ensemble/ Set, Props and Costume: The Team/ Community Collaborators - Un Rio Cauca Muchos Mundos, Sandra Morales from MISAK’s community, SV2G and Garifuna community members, Rios & Ciudades, Guardians del rio Pance, Consejo Comunitario Dos Aguas de Cascajal.

Performers:  Alex Paton, Eyglo Belafonte, Josephine Tremelling, Louise Wilcox and Vanessa Guevara Flores