Formed in 2001 Gecko is an internationally touring physical theatre company based in the UK. Amit Lahav, a director, facilitator, writer and choreographer for numerous companies, is Gecko’s Artistic Director
“After finishing my formal training, I was extremely lucky to work with inspirational theatre makers like Lindsay Kemp, David Glass, Steven Berkoff and Ken Campbell. It was this 10 year period that fuelled my passion for visual and expressive theatre and also confirmed to me that a new journey must now begin which would enable me to explore a theatre language. I met Al Nedjari in 2001 and Gecko was born. For 8 years we developed our skills and cultivated a very definite and exciting style through the process of making shows and facilitating and leading workshops relating to our style of devising and performance.”
Gecko have four award winning theatre productions to their name - Taylor's Dummies, The Race, The Arab and the Jew and their most recent show The Overcoat. Including performances in the UK, Gecko has also toured worldwide in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, Israel and China, now having the foundation to become a leading international physical theatre company. Gecko have since been invited back to China with The Overcoat for a five city tour in November 2010. Gecko also have a strong education programme and regularly run workshops and residencies for young people, teachers, performers and other theatre makers.
www.geckotheatre.com
More about Amit Lahav
Amit was born in Israel and trained as a physical theatre performer before working with several dance, visual and physical theatre companies, including Lindsay Kemp in his touring productions of Variété and Elizabeth, Steven Berkoff, Ken Campbell and David Glass in Unheimlich Spine, Off The Wall and Blue Remembered Hills and was a key member of Mr Glasses Lost Child Project working to create shows with disenfranchised children in Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, Italy, Laos, Thailand, England and Vietnam. Over the years Amit has worked as a director, facilitator, writer and choreographer for numerous companies throughout the world.
Music in Gecko’s work
Music is often the instigator for the creative process - using a broad range of recorded and live music as a starting point for improvisation and as a gateway for dreaming up potential scenes, and ideas. Amit Lahav has said that “the entire show operates like a rhythmical symphony - the story telling and overall 'effect' of the show depends on the harmony and quality of listening between the performers, technical operators and the audience!”
Current production
The Overcoat
Inspired by Gogol
Created by Gecko
Directed by Amit Lahav
Inspired by the unruly spirit of Gogol’s masterpiece Gecko has created an intoxicating world where a man’s thoughts and dreams spill out into everyday life. Gecko creates a fantasy of love, greed and desire using comedy, cinematic imagery, movement and evocative music to tell the love story between Akkaki and his co-worker.
Formed in 2002, Gecko’s previous work includes Taylor’s Dummies, The Race, and The Arab and The Jew, which explored their very personal take on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
The Overcoat was selected for British Council Showcase and Escalator East to Edinburgh in 2009 and following a hugely successful run in Edinburgh this Ipswich export went on tour internationally traveling to Georgia, Brazil, Colombia, South Korea, Israel and China.
In a futile government department, reminiscent of Chaplin's Modern Times, Akakki falls in love with the beautiful Natalia. His feelings for her are not returned and this drives him to win the ultimate office prize - The Overcoat - revered by all as a symbol of success. But how far is Akakki willing to go? And at what cost?
Get the coat, get the girl, change the world!
A Gecko and Lyric Hammersmith Production in association with the Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Created by Gecko/Directed by Amit Lahav/ Performed by: Natalie Ayton, Amit Lahav, Dai Tabuchi, Dave Price, Francois Testory, Georgina Roberts & Vinicius Salles
Design by Ti Green/Lighting by James Farncombe/Original music by Dave Price/Sound by Dan Steele/Assistant Director Richard Rusk
Previous produtions
Taylor’s Dummies
A chance encounter with a mysterious woman throws Taylor's world into turmoil. Eloquently crafted to music, Taylor's Dummies plumbs the depths of male desire, through a series of visual scenes that are both stunning and deeply emotional. Sharp suited performers walk up walls and fly through the air, life-sized dummies come to life, and a baby doll sings Fly Me to the Moon.
Taylor’s dummies won four awards including the Time Out Critics Choice of the year 2002.
The Race
One man is on a collision course with his future, sprinting to the most important moment of his life. But will he be ready? Numbed by the ordinary world, an extraordinary world is upon him. How can a man prepare to meet his first child? Something so beautiful and yet so shocking. What will he feel the moment he sees his child's eyes?
The Race toured New York and was a Total Theatre award winner in 2006.
The Arab and the Jew
We have seen our fathers shouting and waving their arms in the air. We have watched from a distance and hidden from the news. Allel Nedjari and Amit Lahav grew up on opposite sides of the Arab-Israeli divide. Here they celebrate their brotherhood and laugh and cry at their reflections. The Arab and the Jew explored their very personal take on the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
The Arab and the Jew was The Lyric Hammersmith's most successful studio show.