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LOL (Lots of Love) {DANCE}
DIGITAL LOVE Kelly Apter speaks to Luca Silvestrini of Protein Dance about a new show that explores the difficulties of making human connections online
H ow do you meet the love of your life. At work? Down the pub? Or maybe just sitting alone in your bedroom? No, we’re not talking about onanism, but the increasingly popular art of internet dating. Whether it’s through a bona fide matchmaking site, or simply getting pally on Facebook, the web has become the perfect way to meet somebody who ticks all our boxes. Or has it?
online life. Although they’re not even separate anymore, because they cut into each other so easily.’ Silvestrini came up with the notion of
‘isolated togetherness’, capturing the
way people can have more
‘friends’ than ever
For Luca Silvestrini of Protein Dance, exploring the ways we connect has led to the creation of new work LOL (Lots of Love). One aspect of which is how we present ourselves online. ‘You go through profiles looking for the person who fits your requirements exactly, which is weird because it’s almost like you’re looking for a person just like you,’ says Silvestrini. ‘And when you write your own profile, you’re selecting your best bits, or who you want to be – but is it the real you or an ideal that you’re selling?’ LOL also looks at our need to be permanently plugged in to others, sometimes to the detriment of those sitting right opposite us. ‘I think social networking and the fact that we can use our phones every second to post our thoughts on Facebook makes you not be right in the moment with the people you are actually with,’ he says. ‘People are physically together but mentally they’re somewhere else, because you’re sending or receiving messages or sharing experiences the moment they happen. So I wanted to look at these parallel lives – the real life, and the
before, but still be completely alone. Those familiar with Protein’s work will know that set and props usually play a starring role. This time, however, Silvestrini stripped it right back. Three iPhone shaped screens give the work some context, but other than that, the performers are on their own.
to
be ‘It’s the first time I haven’t used a set – just an empty space, to give the idea of isolation,’ says Silvestrini. ‘Which was very challenging, but I didn’t want to make a piece about the technology, I wanted it the about on consequences humanity. So all I had to play with was the distance and space between people.’ Throughout the piece, the six characters share their stories with the audience. An aspect of the show which benefitted hugely from research Silvestrini carried out with a cross- generational group of ordinary
people.
‘There was a clear difference between what young people think about online experiences, and how people my age and older feel about it,’ he says. ‘Young people don’t question it because it’s always been part of their life. For older people, we can separate it, because it wasn’t like that before. So it’s a very and complex subject, and very timely.’ interesting
LOL (Lots of Love), Zoo Southside, 662 6892, 22–27 Aug, 2.05pm, £12 (£10).
11–18 Aug 2011 THE LIST 59
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