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Festival Dance
THE CHOLMONDELEYS
AND THE FEATHERSTONEHAUGHS Songs in the key of death .00
Dancing on your Grave indulges in gothic vaudeville: an hour of songs about death. sung by ghostly clowns pursuing a most pessimistic vision. After an hour. however. the monomania starts to wear thin. Apart from the odd reflection on lives ill-lived or the pleasures of alcohol. every number rattles out the same bleak message over strummed ukuleles. The excruCIating puns leaven the mood. and the dancers occasionally illustrate the stories. but Dancing on your Grave guickly settles into a miserable groove. it is. ironically. light enough to entertain. but lacks emotional depth. As part of an evening of cabaret it would be stunning and hilarious. but it struggles to make a strong impact as a stand-alone show. iGareth Vilei I Assembly Rooms. 623 3030. until 2:3 Aug. 3pm. 5‘] 1—5773 ($70—$72).
BEHIND THE MIRROR
Bizarre love triangle .0.
At first. Ad Infinitum's infe :tious romp plays out like a physical theatre version of The Odd Cei/p/e. the buffoonish protagonist embarking on a slapstick turf war with his demonic reflection. who has escaped from his rightful side of the mirror. The pace really picks up when his sweetheart arrives on the scene and is seduced by the reflections rakish charms.
From the Three Stooges to Tom and Jerry. there's little we haven’t seen before in the elaborately mock-Violent cartoon battle that ensues. Nhat's refreshing. however. is the level of detail in the performances. Whether sguee/ing spots in front of a mirror. shaVIng. eating or breaking each other's heads. these Lecog-trained performers bring inVigorating nuances to every gesture. iAllan Radcliffe)
I Pleasance Courtyard. 5:36 (5:350. unti/ 2:3 Aug. 12. l:3p/n. 5‘8—5‘9 /5‘7 4‘8).
ARIRANG PARTY 0.. FAMILY .0.
Mighty percussion and martial arts
Air/rang Party turns the volume up to a level that would definitely disturb the neighbours. It's a shame that much of the mighty din is pre recorded. but working alongside the CD is an ama/ing live percussion that radiates a warm. lolloping country twang.
The shows two parts don't alv-rays gel — the rhythmic spectacle on the raised back stage and a mix of tricksy martia; arts and breakdance moves and sweeps of fans and dresses up front. Ar/rang Party fails to pull together as a whole 2 nd you're left feeling the best is still to come.
Performed by the same Korean company. Family makes similali'ly outrageous moves look so effortless you begin to believe you could do it all yourself. Playing like a video game. the show takes the form of a dance-off between the Taekwon's and the B- boy's. Cue lots of impressive head spins. kicks and mock battle moves. a few of which look too painful even to describe.
lt's played out with a sense of fun and some simple. in\.'entive backdrops but it a!! feels a little chaotic an i acking in structure. And while Farm/y couldn't really have been any longer. the running time of 3.5 minutes feels (ltXIitltEtlly short. iSusan Wrighti I c/ubl'/FST C‘ Ouinceritenari, Ht’ih. 527 7:362. (int/l 2:3 Aug. (i’pni rrr-arni/i. 8. lOJS/J/n lA/‘i/‘arigP.’1/‘tvi. i‘lfi IE‘ .72..
ONE MORE THAN ONE
Love comes in different shapes and sizes 000.
The thing about computer dating ;s that you never guite know wnat you're g wt] to get. Or. more to the point. who. Havng met online. two characters meet l". person to discover that along with al: the things they do have :l‘ (I()lt‘il“()ll - there are a few things they don't. He's (3ft tail. she's 3ft. He's Asian. she's Caucasian.
And so begins a trading of wvtty. yet incredibly insightful insults about their respective social stereotypes. He asks endless questions about her srnali stature. she wonders about h:s potentially smali penis. Most striking >t' all is the tender yet sensuous duet they dance to replicate the sexual act. followed by a more feisty dance equivalent of an argument. once their relationship has developed. A more
MATTHEW BOURNE’S DORIAN GRAY
Thoroughly modern Oscar
Although no one would bat an eyelid today, Oscar Wilde’s gothic novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray caused shock and outrage when it was published in 1890. The tale of an impressionable young man who becomes obsessed with his own image, had a little too much homoeroticism and hedonism for delicate Victorian tastes. Since then, various stage, TV and film versions have brought the book to life, but nobody has taken Wilde’s original intent and given it a modern twist - until now. Created by Matthew Bourne, Dorian
Gray brings the tale bang up to date.
‘There’s no strong recent version that I’m aware of,’ says Bourne. ‘So I felt I
could take the themes and make them relevant to modern life. The wanting to stay young, the corruption, the power of youth and all that goes with it.’
Despite having it on his ‘list of things to do’ for years, Bourne had shied away from adapting Dorian due to its unsympathetic characters and vague misogyny. But a few switches in gender solved that. Lord Henry, the man who leads Dorian astray, is now a female magazine editor while actress, Cybil Vane has transformed into male ballet dancer, Cyril.
‘It’s a contemporary telling of the story,’ says Bourne. ‘All the sets are in a photographer’s studio, so it’s a photograph, rather than a painting, that changes. Because that’s how somebody becomes an iconic image today - through photos and advertising.’ (Kelly Apter)
I King "s Theatre. 22—.3’0 Aug (not 25/. 8pm 12.30pm Sat 23 <3 30 Aug), $70—$30.
thought proyoking and tll‘iitlth' pas do (leux you'll be hard pressed to find. ’Kelly Aptei‘»
I C Central. 08.1.5 (’60 123.1, until 2:3 Aug. :'>,:')()p/n. V8.50 519.50 '57'.:3()-~.‘8.5()i.
SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE
Two very different displays of talent 0...
It's not bombastic patriotism to suggest that some of the most accomplished and satisfying contemi)orai'y dance on the l ringe is homegrown. These two works performed by Scottish Dance Theatre are an excellent showcase for the Jaw-rlropping versatility of the company.
Meditating on love. Liv Lorent's Tender/rook makes satyrs and rampaging. tumbling nymphs out of its dancers. twirling ribbons and balls Of light on strings in the air. all of them yearning for love as Ei/io Bosso's score reaches a joyful. orgasmic crescendo. Eventually. though. the strings become tangled round their wrists. their movements cloud and they grow weary
With carnality.
Hofesh Shechter's terrific. brute force DOG is a very different proposition — itchy. tWitchy. slick and performed with precision. The dancers move as a pack, Brazilian rave dance feeding into a muse on evolution with animalistic ticks and punch—drunk flails feeding into the learned memory of the group.
(Kirstin lnnesl I Zoo Southsi'de. until 24 Aug, 662 (5892. (5.30pm. £70 (f8).
21 Aug .1 Sep 2008 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 85