Ockham’s Razor return with a tender farewell in ‘Collaborator’ at The Lowry

A pioneering physical theatre duo are set to take centre stage in Salford this weekend, delivering a show that captures both the beauty and burden of creating a life together, on and off stage.

Ockham’s Razor’s Collaborator is a new aerial duet created and performed by the company’s co-artistic directors, Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney, who have spent 20 years building a partnership in contemporary circus.

Blending acrobatics, dance and theatre, the show explores what it means to build something with another person, whether that be a performance, a relationship or a shared future. It takes place on a minimal stage with just two performers, a suspended metal frame and a sense of deep trust that underscores every movement.

The pair lift, balance, drop and climb around each other in a physically demanding routine filled with intimacy and humour. The result is a tender portrait of compromise and co-creation, described by The Guardian as “a mesmerising and intimate ode” to their performing lives.

Set to a 50-minute runtime and suitable for audiences aged 11 and over, the piece is part of The Lowry’s Contemporary Season: Dance and Circus Edition. Though wordless, the piece resonates through gesture and weight, exploring what happens when two people try to make decisions together, about art, love or simply the next step.

Produced by Turtle Key Arts and supported by Arts Council England, Collaborator will also feature a post-show talk on 5 February hosted by Steve Cowton, giving audiences a rare opportunity to hear directly from the artists about the creative and emotional process behind the work.

Charlotte and Alex previously announced that this could be their final performance together, marking the end of an era for Ockham’s Razor. Reviews from the show’s London debut praised its honesty and craft. Everything Theatre called it “wonderfully simple and unpretentious”, while The Stage highlighted the duo’s “perfect alignment of confidence and trust.”