A Saturday morning in lovely Stockbridge is quite an appealing scenario for general pottering around and the last thing on people’s minds would be the gruelling tale of the return of a Slavic emigrant to his home town.

Still, Farm in the Cave International Studio’s show, Sclavi/Song of an Emigrant is the hottest morning ticket in town. The show grabs your attention from the word go.  An old battered caravan wagon and a potent ensemble of eight with pretty much just themselves and their extraordinary performance ability and musicality take you through a journey into the universe of the return of an emigrant to the Slovak country he left behind. The story of a community, ex/lovers, money, acceptance (or lack of it) is told by dances, songs, physical movement and the powerful creation of atmosphere moments Farm in the Cave International Studio is so well known for.

Everything seen and experienced on stage is produced live for your delight. The imagery is authentic and brutally real and bound to touch even the most cold hearted. Even if the plot is at some points hard to follow, and one is left sometimes a bit adrift, the intensity of what is being lived on stage and the powerfulness and almost heroic quality of the songs and the performers will cover what whatever an audience member may feel missing. In the end is about the tragic condition of the return for a culture that no longer is your own.
A strong cast, with an even stronger show by a company that keeps on proving its respectability every time. A show to let yourself go and be involved.