Originally written for Exeunt.
It could be
so easy for a company who combine contemporary dance and circus skills to
simply fill an evening with crowd-pleasing spectacle and gravity-defying
moves. Particularly a company with the daring and refined physical skill
of this Hampshire-based company, Joli Vyann. And yet – although this
production is ripe for provoking gasps and general incredulity, it
harnesses these impressive skills and directs them towards storytelling.
Presented as a double bill of pieces in development, the first, Stateless is
an exploration of the human experience of immigration. It is told visually
and literally, as we watch the four performers throw themselves between each
other or jump between pieces of set. The risk factor is high, and the
story is told to emotionally charged effect.
The overall
sense is that this is what life for these characters feels like, not only what
it looks like. We also experience what it sounds like, as the piece is
supported by a soundtrack containing interviews with real people sharing
their own stories on immigration. This emphasises the context and the
mood of the piece in a way that lifts it beyond abstract representation,
and into something quite raw. When we hear a quote such as “I left the
house without packing anything, not even my sanity” then see a girl fling
herself tirelessly against an immovable wall of people, the motion is
contextualised, making it all the more uncomfortably real. Suddenly, the
issues surrounding immigration – particularly for those escaping from a
volatile environment – feel much closer to home.
In light of
this, the close physical contact is somehow comforting in this story, even when
they are standing on top of each other’s heads. The inherent trust implies
that they have found a home within each other. They work together to
assemble the scattered pieces of set and build a bridge, a process that is
as beautiful to watch in creation as it is upon completion because the company
work so fluidly with one another. There is a sense of hope and
determination to this section as the pace is slower, there is more
playfulness between the characters and it feels as if they are achieving
something. The section culminates with the meeting of the two female performers
on top of the bridge. “Stateless” indeed.
Another
voice comes over the soundtrack and now, the group are on the run from the
police. This is cleverly and impressively imagined by use of a cyr wheel
(a big hula hoop) which one of the male dancers sets spinning horizontally
in the centre of the stage. The performers jump away from its
grasp, afraid of being caught. When one of them is captured, he manages to
control the hoop – to control the system – but not for long. The others
swoop through the spinning hoop as if trying to save him but the hoop is
softening in momentum. Time is running out. The music ends, stillness falls,
and all we hear is the clatter of the wheel declaring his capture.
Stateless is currently in development,
predicted to have grown into an hour long piece by next summer. Although
the piece in its current state was enthralling, I am excited to see where it
will go next. They have laid the foundation in terms of theme and story,
and shown physical potential for this to be a deeper exploration of the
experience of immigration through a unique, potent medium. They are due to
be at the London International Mime Festival in the spring.
The second
part of the double bill was a piece entitled H2H and was in stark
contrast to Stateless, both in mood and theme. It focuses, after
much deliberation between the girls and boys falling in and out of love
with each other, on a couple giving birth to their first child. The piece was
slow to build – as relationships sometimes are – and after the element of surprise
that the first piece provided, it was at risk of paling in comparison. It
deals with issues that are more familiar, and therefore, potentially
less challenging. However, the light relief of smiling performers and
comic moments was very welcome, and the piece eased into its own stride.
Most
delightful was the company’s novel use of costume, through which each person’s
jumper was twisted and danced through until it became a ball of knots and,
by appropriation, a baby. Here, the piece began to probe deeper into our
society’s approach to parenthood and gender roles, showing the mother as
primary caregiver while the father recoiled from the baby’s cries. Prepped for
provocation having observed that, for the most part, the men supported the
women, I had to ask – is this not just a lazy stereotype?
The power of
this, however, was to place the question directly within the world of
performance, where motherhood is regularly postponed or is a
career-killing choice for female dancers. It also makes a point about
motherhood in general, and the laughter in the audience was out of sympathy
while an exhausted mother retrieved the baby from its father’s hands. The
baby was passed between the performers, as if travelling from mum, to dad,
to babysitter until the knots of the jumper were untied, and the
clothing was returned to its owners. Evidently, what held these people
together had likewise unfurled and the physical, emotional support
disappeared. They turned their backs on each other and left.
Produced by Turtle Key Arts.
No comments:
Post a Comment