REVIEWS

Sweetshop Revolution

Dulce et Decorum

Photo Courtesy of BAC

Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 March 07, 7.30pm

BAC

A review by Isla Gray for EXTRA! EXTRA!

This newly formed dance theatre company focuses on war as its central theme, the experiences of three women within this context, and the relationships between them. It explores this subject matter through movement, spoken text, live music, body rhythms, and soundscapes created onstage through bodies and basic props. Their performance is about women, coping, freedom and constraint, escape and longing, humour and sadness, and most bizarrely about ice cream!

Commissioned by and developed at BAC, Dulce et Decorum is one of BAC's self-proclaimed ‘Freshly Scratched' success' stories, and they have everything to be proud of. With a predominantly bare stage throughout, minimal props, a small cast, and basic lighting, this performance had the potential to go in any direction at any point that it wanted, and it did exactly that. The opening scene of three women, sitting side-by-side on wooden chairs discussing the weather, was extremely poignant in its simplicity and humour, setting the tone of what would be an immensely quaint and somewhat beautiful interpretation of war life for these women.

The structure of the piece was episodic, with flashes of solo dances and monologues, alongside duets and ‘group' movement pieces, accompanied musically by skilled pianist Brian Ellsbury, onstage throughout, and sections of song sung by the performers themselves. This collection of episodes slotted together perfectly to provide the audience with the company's interpretation of the potential of civic life. The three central performers created three strikingly different characters, whose physicality, gestures, movements, and facial expressions openly projected the inner worlds of these women. Their characters were scared, ashamed, naïve, confused, delighted, funny, and mischievous, and it was the commendable movement skill of each performer, which aptly communicated these emotions. However, most importantly in achieving success under the umbrella of ‘dance theatre' there was humanity within the movement of the dancers, which was noticeable throughout, and was their biggest achievement of the piece as a whole. The result being that, as an audience member you cared about the individuals onstage, you liked them, you found them funny, and you delighted in ‘real' women expressing themselves through the beauty of movement.

Photo Courtesy of BAC

The humour of the piece was surprising and delightful. It appeared through the grounded northern accents of two of the performers, the awareness of the characters by the performers themselves, the random collection of episodes placed adjacent to each other, and the link between these episodes, as well as more obvious humour at certain textual and movement moments.

Photo Courtesy of BAC

But what about the ice cream? Where does movement and ice-cream meet to produce theatre? It meets somewhere closer to the end of the piece, and is as much present to provide surprise, joy, and delight to the audience, as is the rest of the content of the piece. The central characters and the company obviously enjoy ice cream, and it is apparent that they want the audience to share their passion, not just their passion for ice cream though, but for dance theatre as well. This they achieve with playfulness and ease.

BAC

Lavender Hill, Battersea, SW11 5TN

Box Office: 020 7223 2223

www.bac.org.uk

Tickets: £10/£6

Saturday 21 April 07, 8pm

The Place: Robin Howard Dance Theatre

The Place

Robin Howard Dance Theatre, 17 Duke's Road, London, WC1H 9PY

Box Office: 020 7127 1100

www.theplace.org.uk

Tickets: £5-£15

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