Restless Dance Theatre. Odeon Theatre. 13 Nov 2015
Love, it’s a natural thing. Love, it’s a complicated thing. It is both; don’t we all know it. Restless Dance Theatre’s double bill Naturally does an extraordinary job of exploring this frustrating duality.
Emma Stokes’ What’s a Nice Girl Doing in a Place Like This? manages complicated things with a tremendous infusion of humour and deftly constructed choreographic narrative. It is seriously clever stuff.
Beneath a very large heart shape in two separated halves, constructed from of intertwined wood and doubling as lamps, stands a girl. As she lifts her arms outwards, upwards and down again, a male dancer behind her picks off what seem like invisible threads, hanging them on the wood.
Centre stage, the ensemble is gathered in couples. Their heads together, they slowly turn in soft light. Throughout the following phases, Stokes’ ensemble explores a number of different relationship experiences. The loneliness of missing your special one brilliantly expressed by couples standing, leaning side on, faces to the audience holding up a pillow between them. At intervals spoken word is thrown into the mix with hilarious results as things, usually kept under wraps, are expressed openly; I want to be alone, but I don’t; trying to discuss the tricky business of sex.
With each passing phase of dance, one half of the wood heart slowly moves its way stage left. Designer Ailsa Paterson’s broken half heart looks a like a question mark, perfectly accentuating the whole intent of the piece, as does the thoughtful blue of the costumes. Yes love is a nice place, without too many answers to the questions it poses. What’s a Nice Girl Doing in a Place Like This? engagingly asks lots of questions. If the answers don’t seem to be there, that’s ok. Getting the questions out is the thing.
Michelle Ryan’s Touched is a burst of high energy, peppy dance-theatre romance. Males in red and girls in pink rock their way through a series of romantic experiences; rejected by the girl you like; feeling attractive when you’re out and about; experiencing the thrill of the chase leading to first kiss, first touch, first love.
As preoccupied and thoughtful as What’s a Nice Girl Doing in a Place Like This? was, Touched is out and out in the spirit of Grease or Dirty Dancing. The natural thrill of love is celebrated in this work, embracing with humour the sad and happy of it all. Ryan’s choreography is a sharp blend of contemporary floor based disco and rap, accompanied by a solid score from Liz Martin.
Naturally is a perfectly paired double bill, taking on the good and the bad of love with generous spirit and piercing intelligence.
David O’Brien
When: 13 to21 Nov
Where: Odeon Theatre
Bookings: trybooking.com
Gallery
