Sasha Waltz and Guests: Dido and Aeneas -
Sydney Lyric, 16 January -
KAGE: Forklift -
Carriageworks Bay 17, 18 January -
Marrugeku: Gudirr Gudirr -
Carriageworks Bay 20, 17 January -
Sasha Waltz’s Dido and Aeneas is the centrepiece of this year’s Sydney Festival - bringing a large cast of singers, dancers and musicians all the way from Germany. Although not an easy work to follow, it is ultimately rewarding if you are able to follow the narrative. Despite being sung in English it was only possible to pick up a few words here and there and there were no projected surtitles to help fill the gaps. I was fortunate in being able to read the text from the programme as it was being sung and identify which character was singing but good eyesight is needed to be able to read such fine print when the house lights are down. My companion was unable to do this and I suspect many others would have had the same problem.
In a narrative work like Dido and Aeneas, being able to follow what is being said (and who is saying it!) makes a huge difference to audience engagement and the lack of surtitles was a major weakness in what was otherwise an impressive production. The underlying tragedy of lovers parted by duty and fate provided much dramatic conflict and Sasha Waltz’s choreography was extremely successful in communicating these themes using solos and also by cleverly manipulating groups of dancers to create choreographic patterns and shapes that were just as expressive in their own right.
I was initially surprised that the placement of dancers in a water tank, used so heavily to promote Dido and Aeneas, features only in the prologue, but understood after reading the synopsis and observing the limited movement space within the tank. The dancers are beautifully lit as they move gracefully through the water, yet can only squeeze past each other by turning sideways. In contrast the expansive, unfurnished stage that remains after the tank is taken away gives the whole cast much more freedom. Waltz’s choreography makes the most of all this space, utilising trapdoors in the floor and flying apparatus hanging from the rigging above to access a wide range of levels. And the singers have to move too - at one point the chorus sings full out while crawling forwards on their hands and knees. One of the best things about this self-described ‘choreographic opera’ is the equal footing given to dancers and singers. By the show’s end they are all simply performers, not easily identified as separate groups of singers and dancers.
Like Dido and Aeneas, Forklift is not an easy work to categorise. The underlying concept of dancers moving on and around a moving piece of heavy machinery is an interesting one but also seems to limit the variety required to sustain a whole hour’s performance. There is, however, some strikingly inventive imagery from choreographer Kate Denborough. One highlight is when performer Nicci Wilks stands in front of the forklift, grasping the tines and arching her back as if she is pulling the forklift behind her with her own strength. It is quite an extraordinary optical illusion and the use of lighting to create enlarged shadows of the machinery and dancers makes it even more powerful.
Although the work begins slowly it gains traction about twenty minutes in, as the dancers perform increasingly bold balances from significant heights, and ends with some spectacular circus style acrobatics. Performers Henna Kaikula, Amy Macpherson and Nicci Wilks all displayed great control and flexibility while Jethro Woodward’s electronic score gave the whole scene an eerie, isolated feel.
Another work from the Sydney Festival’s "About an Hour" program was Gudirr Gudirr, a solo performance by Dalisa Pigram that has already been shown in Melbourne and is soon heading to Brisbane. It is an engaging, well structured piece of dance theatre that clearly articulates Pigram’s concerns for the multicultural community in Broome she came from. Well worth seeing.
- GERALDINE HIGGINSON
Forklift plays Arts Centre Melbourne 12-16 Feb. More info: www.kage.com.au/book-tickets