One lone figure holds centre stage in a portrayal of mental anguish and entrapment. A barely delineated square lights the floor, her prison cell, accentuating a confused and misty internal world. Hand gestures played over her mouth add to the claustrophobia and loss of communication. Her confusion is palpable. Although she reaches out, her isolation is evident, her small world is getting smaller. The sound track however, was disappointingly distracting and overproduced. Perhaps it was intended to deepen the alienation of the dancer, but it got in the way of engaging us fully in this poignant personal struggle.
With barely a pause for breath in 25 minutes this was a piece of exhausting, energetic dance theatre. A battle of dominance and masculinity, with references to slavery and brotherhood. An empty chair, the only prop, served as a cold onlooker, a dispassionate controller. Two shadows appeared intermittently on the screen behind; alter egos perhaps reminding us of our own. This was, it seemed, another inner world of entrapment and estrangement where communication worked on a different level. Although I was left out in the cold this was evidently a well-considered work which was appreciated by many of the young audience.
A screen with a door and window divided the stage, creating a sense of an inner and outer world. What is this place? Is it another cell or a place of safety? Who is the sitting sixth person controlling the scene, his face lit by a computer screen? The other five dancers work together to create a tense atmosphere of dis- ease, control and fractured relationships. This is another dark piece of work where both the sound track and the choreography weave their magic. We are pulled in and pushed out, inside then outside, safe and then cast adrift, free to make our interpretation but left insecure and unsure.
Reviewed on 11 January at The Place by Anna Mortimer