Veronica’s Score: 3 /5 Stars
Mea Culpa – a Latin phrase that’s fun to know the meaning of and say even – and here, the title of an absorbing work by French-born Australian director/choreographer Cloé Fournier.
All eyes are on the female form in this piece. In the world it depicts, one without men, women, still feel the pressure to systemise their behaviour. The omnipresent power seeking to control them is known as IT. We might not be in Kansas anymore, but what we are watching is undoubtedly a response to the times we are living in.
Seven dancers, of different shapes and sizes, (if close in years), are nearly always on stage all the time. In a series of vignettes, the performers build a movement vocabulary while also exploring what it might mean to oppose IT. This also cheekily challenges the audience, with those on stage occasionally breaking the fourth wall resulting in some amusing, if confronting, interactions.
Combining movement and spoken word, the performers seem comfortable moving to both, though, not unexpectedly, the human interplay feels more exposed in the verbal language free sections.
I felt each dancer was able to express themselves as an individual as well as part of the collective. I was enjoying being on their journey – from crisscrossing the tidy stage in their Spanx inspired costuming, moving as a pack with little physical contact, to the all-out chaos of the final scenes. Not that for a moment, I was absolutely sure what was going on – heck, this is dance and where’s the fun in that.
Joining Fornier are performers/collaborators Imogen Cranna, Isabella Coluccio, Emily Flannery, Nicole Ford, Anna McCulla, Natalie Pelarek, and Daniela Zambrano. The score is by composer James Brown, and it all unfolds under the atmospheric lighting by Frankie Clark. Vicki Van Hout serves as the dramaturg.
Presented by Form Dance Projects along with Riverside Theatres, this cohesive work with the shortest of seasons was seen by only a lucky few. I recommend a visit to their social media sites to check out their upcoming performances.
Veronica Hannon, Theatre Now
Photo Credit: Heidrun Lohr
