Theatre
www.list.co.uk/theatre PREVIEW DANCE TOM DALE COMPANY: ROAM Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 20 Feb
The universal need to explore new territory – whether you’re a lion prowling a desert plane or a teenager leaving home – was the starting point for choreographer Tom Dale’s new work, Roam. ‘I wanted to find a parallel between the human need to explore our potential and the way
animals have to find food and shelter,’ he explains. ‘Everything needs to roam around and find what it’s looking for – whether that’s intellectual stimulation or basic essentials – it’s a phenomenon of life.’
Dale was also inspired by the moments we look back on with fondness, even if we didn’t fully appreciate them at the time. ‘But that’s how it should be,’ he says, ‘because if you notice them, then you aren’t fully emersed in the sensation, you’re not really living the moment.’
The company was last seen in Edinburgh at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with the
darkly atmospheric Rise. Just as thoughtful, but slightly lighter in tone, Roam once again uses the urban electronic music of Jo Wills and Guy Wood, along with a new composition by dubstepper Sam Shackleton. And, like all of Dale’s work, Roam is delivered in a dance language impossible to label, with aspects of contemporary dance, breakdance, ballet and butoh all evident. ‘My work doesn’t fall into any one category,’ says Dale. ‘It’s really an instinctive use of
the body, not any found style at all – although over time we’ve begun to find our own style.’ (Kelly Apter)
PREVIEW CONTEMPORARY DANCE SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE Dundee Rep, Wed 17–Sat 20 Feb then touring
As an experienced choreographer, Janet Smith has always had much to offer Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT). But as the company’s artistic director, she’s also got an eye for outside talent. Smith has brought a diverse range of people in to work with her dancers in previous years, and the company’s new double bill is no exception. Sitting alongside NQR, co-created
by SDT’s Dance Agent for Change Caroline Bowditch, associate director Marc Brew and Smith herself, is The Life and Times of Girl A, by choreographer Ben Duke. Co-founder of London-based dance theatre company Lost Dog, Duke was commissioned by Smith to create a new piece for SDT, resulting in a humorous look at moments of emotional and financial crisis. ‘Ben’s world lies somewhere between theatre directing, filmmaking and dance,’ explains Smith, ‘so I was really interested in his perspective. We’re a small company, and each time a new choreographer comes in they connect with different dancers – so it offers them all different opportunities. And if I can excite the performers, and keep them developing, then they’re sure as hell going to share that with an audience.’ (Kelly Apter)
PREVIEW NEW WORK WHAT WE KNOW Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17–Sat 27 Feb
One of the changes at the Traverse since Dominic Hill’s appointment as artistic director is the theatre’s determination to mount a wide range of small scale work in its studio theatre. The success of David Greig’s Midsummer over the last year bears out Hill’s faith in this process.
‘I’ve always wanted to broaden the amount and kind of work we were putting on,’ Hill explains. ‘I’ve also wanted the Traverse to become a home to some smaller companies. It’s a lonely big world out there and I wanted some companies to feel as if they had a place to perform.’
The latest theatre ensemble to benefit from this sometimes profitable largesse is Pamela Carter’s EK company. Writer and director Carter has secured the services of the brilliant Kate Dickie as a
performer for her latest piece, What We Know. The play follows a woman trying to compensate for the man who is no longer part of her life. ‘There are three scenes,’ says Hill, ‘one where a
meal is cooked, a scene with Kate and an unwanted teenager, and a scene where there’s a dinner party – they don’t necessarily work in a linear way. It’s a bit like a whodunit, though, you kind of have to engage with it and work out what’s happened.’
As with much of Carter’s work, the piece sets out to challenge audiences, rather than reassure them, something Hill admires. ‘It has a guise of being about something simple and familiar, and it’s very funny, but underneath that, there comes a time when you have to work something out about what happens. It’s a theatre of ideas, and frankly that’s not to everyone’s taste – we should be up front about that, but it’s fascinating work.’ (Steve Cramer)
18 Feb–4 Mar 2010 THE LIST 83
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