Filled with a couple of operas’ worth of tragedy, Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles is not the likeliest source of inspiration for a dramatic circus show but Ockham's Razor are here to prove us wrong.
The company Ockham's Razor takes its name from a principle devised by the medieval philosopher, William of Ockham. Very simply, it posits that, given the choice of two explanations, you should always choose the simpler one. It is sometimes known as the "law of parsimony": the razor shaving away the unnecessary to present the essence. And that is exactly what the company has done with Thomas Hardy's greatest heroine, Tess of the d'Urbevilles, in Tess, currently at the Peacock Theatre. Now, given that the Peacock is part of the Sadlers' Wells stable, you might imagine that this is a dance company – and certainly there is dance involved in the production (there's a particularly delightful harvest dance bathed in golden autumnal light). However, Ockham's Razor defines itself more as a combination of contemporary circus and physical theatre. Above all, though, they are master story-tellers. Tess's story is one of terrible injustice and it has b