Gecko, Institute, BBC Four

Gecko is one of the UK most exciting and original physical theatre companies. Founded in 2001, and led by Artistic Director Amit Lahav, its work presents deep, thought-provoking themes in a highly entertaining way.

People are Gecko’s main interest; and the company focuses on emotions and personal journeys which it translates into a multilayered theatrical language that blends the spoken word, highly physical choreography, sound, lighting and design.

Institute started life as a theatre piece five years ago, and garnered appreciative reviews as it toured the UK. The Guardian described it as ‘a rich, visually stunning show’, while asserting, ‘so much of it remains bewildering.’

And reviewing Institute’s performance in Manchester the TheatreReviewsHub declared it ‘richly entertaining and thought-provoking European theatre of the highest quality.’

Institute is set in an office that could also be a hospital, populated by damaged men, where the prevailing climate swerves from jolly to sinister.

Institute asks how do we care more for each other in the target-driven machinery of modern life? Who will be there to catch us if we fall?

This feature film is a recreation of the theatre piece because, as director Amit Lahav notes, certain scenes that worked beautifully on the stage had to be recast for the camera, the demands of which are quite specific.

As well as directing, Amit Lahav performs as part of a nine-strong international cast that includes the mesmerising actor François Testory.

Institute comes to BBC Four as a collaboration between Gecko, BBC Arts, the commissioning organisation The Space, and Illuminations, and is broadcast as part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine programme. It'll remain available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after the initial broadcast.