VISITANT at Project Arts Centre, Dublin. 19-22 February 2014

Visitant
Directed by Trevor Knight
Choreography Gyohei Zaitsu
Performers Gyohei Zaitsu, Trevor Knight and Aine O’Dwyer
Music Trevor Knight and Aine O’Dwyer

If a picture's worth a thousand words then The Visitant (as a spectacle of gesture) is priceless. It is extreme, it is powerful and despite some naff acting by the musician/composer Trevor Knight, it is good theatre. No words of criticism like that she's no singer(!) can lessen the impact of Aoine O'Dwyer's harp playing. She's superb on the instrument though admittedly she's no actress either. Indeed, as the narrative progressed both Aoine and Trevor became somewhat of an encumbrance on the stage, somewhat getting in the way of the true hero of the evening, the choreographer and Butoh dancer Gyohei Zaitsu.

The stage production however earns few brownie points in my book. Some significant action takes place on the floor which is hardly visible from anywhere bar the first two rows of the audience. At other times Aoine and Trevor block the view of the dancer completely. A surprising mistake on the director's part as this was essentially dance theatre with no spoken narrative to shift the audience focus and propel the story along.

The costumes were another curiosity. Compared to the rather exquisite attire of the dancer, Trevor sporting an off-the-peg if unusually colourful suit and Aoine's long dress did little for the play's aesthetic resolve.

As for the stage design, a few uncomfortable comments need to be made. Alice Maher is a good and well meaning artist and the ramp in the middle of the stage was a stroke of genius, I admit, but what of the rest? She should have known better. The stage is not a painter's canvass however tempting, nor is it a sculptor's pedestal to make a personal statement. Neither is it about decoration, however inventive. Stage design is architecture focused specifically on the dramatic narrative. The actors' play has a point and the designer's task is to materially extract from the story the elements that make it believable and to put these squarely before the audience. From a transient narrative to conjure up substance within the confines of the stage. In The Visitant however the final effect of the messy electronic paraphernalia higgledy-piggledy all over the place and the elephant of a harp smack in the middle of it all was rather more grating than surreal.

However, to be clear, the glory of the evening goes to Gyohei Zaitsu's performance and the music, both as composition and performance, and I feel immensely thankful for that.

Lighting Design Marcus Costello
Set Design Alice Maher
Costumes Yuni Hong
Production Management Miriam Duffy
Produced by Aisling Murray

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NEW MOVEMENTS: REBECCA REILLY at Dancehouse, Dublin. 17th January 2014

No Less Than the Trees and the Stars

Choreography Rebecca Reilly
Performers Trevor Furlong, Leoba Petrie, Tonnta Choir, Katherine O' Malley, Philip Connaughton and Fergus Byrne 

Although still a work in progress, this was a spectacular showing of an intense melange of sound design (Trevor Furlong), the cello (Leoba Petrie) and the voice by the members of the Tonnta Choir. Unfortunately the dance did not amount to much. Admittedly, in the context of such talent the choreographer might have felt it'll do but really, isn't a research bursary about raising the bar and living up to the challenge?

I suspect the problem may stem from the multiplication of roles that a choreographer is expected to fulfil these days. Apart from creating the dance narrative itself, choreographers are stage and production designers, accountants and producers, and whatever else that falls their way. I don't pretend to have an answer but I feel that a broader involvement of drama and theatre talent in dance, along the lines of creative collaborations already established with musicians, filmmakers and the like, might not be a bad idea.

ROAD MOVIES

Road Movies

A friend of mine suggested I watch some Irish movies as homework before I say more on the subject. So for anyone interested here goes. My aim is a film maker's analysis rather than a review of any of the films. The difference is like that in all art and wine. Bad may still be worth consuming and give pleasure though in the end you're hardly better off.

Now, this will only make sense to those who have seen the film when I say that “I Went Down" was finally a disappointment. The main character was underplayed throughout, close on boring in fact while his accomplice was actually very funny and kind of grew on you. It's like the director or the writer or whoever could not make up their minds as to who the hero was meant to be . .  It rather reminded me of “Sideways” where for about a third of the film the hero’s travelling companion takes the central spot. It is subtle and you only realise it when you begin to feel more for the secondary character than the hero. Admittedly the film recovers but only with some heavy footed emotional pounding the hero gets from his ex-wife at his friend’s wedding.

The pivotal point in “I Went Down” when the cheerful accomplice saves the hero's life lacked focus. A shame as it was critical to the plot when from unwilling bed fellows they become friends of sorts. The drama was lessened again when the guy they had kidnapped to bring back to the bad boss revealed himself a far more interesting figure than our hero.

All in all, the plot was too complex to follow or care. The shoot-out scene at the end was slow in coming not to mention that the main villain was so unbelievable. He had the lines, he just about had the face but the body language was totally unconvincing. It made you think, this guy is scaring them? Really? Also, the love interest was underdeveloped to make much sense. As a character the ex-girlfriend was a non-entity. It seemed rather like a stab at padding out. At least she could have been a manipulative bitch who wants more than she deserves or gets. It may be unwarranted to put it all down to bad direction but clearly something's gone wrong.

The camera work was often clever without a good reason which is always a no-no. This is where American cinema excels. Never a self conscious shot. The camera is there to serve the storyline. It is a guide to bring us along and show us whatever it is that we are told. That said, it was still far more intelligent than in "The Eclipse" but that is another story