REVIEW: BodyScramble Presents: AS LONG AS THE STARS LAST at Golden Goose Theatre 4 - 8 March 2025

‘a beautiful performance - at times funny through its playful clowning - and utterly enchanting’ ★★★★

For many of us space and all that it holds remains as inconceivable as the idea of being able to fly (with our own wings, not those supplied by easy jet or Ryanair). It is tantalisingly out of reach and, due to its mystery, becomes a place of wonder and maybe even magic. It is with these principles of awe and intrigue that physical theatre company Bodyscramble explore the dauntingly large topic of our universe. Not a small place to start but within the boundaries offered by a small theatre, an array of everyday objects including mugs, spoons and a moka pot, that lofty goal was somehow made achievable. 

For seventy five minutes audience members are brought on a journey, helped along the way by five physical theatre artists (Sean Croft, Ali Wilson Goldsmith, Wendy Lam, Lulu Deng, Ze) who, through clown, mime and object manipulation bring the out of reach, wonderfully down to earth. 

As Long as the Stars Last, playing in Camberwell’s Golden Goose theatre until the 8th of March, is a beautiful performance—at times funny through its playful clowning, and utterly enchanting it is a welcome respite from a world of deafening noise. The performance is, for the most part, entirely non-verbal, integrating BSL sign language throughout. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s book Cosmicomics, the play makes use of this reference point to re-tell its fictional stories. If you are not familiar with this book, the narrative may not always be immediately obvious to follow, though far from causing a problem, this instead prompts an invitation to find your own meaning in the physical storytelling and abstract worlds placed in front of you. 

Directed by company founder Sean Croft, the joy of this play comes from the disarming simplicity of its design and stagecraft combined with the skilful physicality of its cast. In this way, it can serve as a reminder for us ourselves to find that same sense of joy and curiosity in our own world—to make the familiar just a little unfamiliar. 

Photography credit: Mattia Sedda 

BodyScramble Presents: AS LONG AS THE STARS LAST at Golden Goose Theatre 4 - 8 March 2025

BOX OFFICE

Cast & Creatives

ZE

Sean Croft

Wency Lam

Ali Wilson-Goldsmith

Lulu Deng

Gemma Flewitt - Production Coordinator

Sean Croft - Director

Eloise Pennycott - BSL Collaborator & Choreographer

Camila Hoyos Stuttle - Stage Manager