For a truly fantastic evening of theatre, “PARADIS” is a must see. Rambert and the members of his company Side One Posthume Theatre, present a rare spectacle that should be seen by everyone, especially those who think the grandiloquent Broadway scene is a paradisiacal-tour-de-force.
Read entire review: Pascal Rambert’s “PARADIS (unfolding time)” does not blur the line between theatre and dance so much as it merely pushes the boundaries. The result: a beautiful and poetic spectacle that explores an impression of Paradise.
As the lights dim, a throng of people enters the theatre from the lobby, dressed as many New Yorkers would dress in the winter: layered. I thought this was rude of the Dance Theatre Workshop staff to allow so many people in at the start of a show, but when these people took the stage instead of seats, my attention was theirs.
In dim fluorescent light, layers of hats and gloves are immediately peeled away, along with tank tops, jeans, and underwear. The actors stand bare, stripped to the conscience, unwavering, their countenance baring no resemblance to the “guiltie shame" Adam and Eve experience in Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, for what ensues is the discovery of Paradise.
The empty stage is soon littered by a plethora of microphones, blankets, guitars, work lights, chairs, and projectors projecting on small screens escalators and Renaissance paintings, all surrounding at the center a rectangular mat. Interaction between actor and space, actor and prop, actor and actor swells to a point of near-chaos, tensions release; the stage is cleared, the mat rolled up. “Why did I pass from the center,” begs a voice into a microphone when another mat of a different color is brought out, actors return to the center, and the piece builds in momentum until its next release.
Rambert’s thoughtful direction produces complex and physical concentrations of activity (extensions of Yoga), disconnected in space, yet connected in time. A leg extends in synch with an arm at opposite ends of the stage. Two actors cascade in slow motion around others somersaulting, crawling, always advancing toward a point in time until it unfolds. The choreography begs for extreme physically fit actors, as repetitive gestures and poses become draining. And take note: only a few are trained dancers.
Rambert’s text is poetic, at times abrasive and other times desperate for answers to questions that cannot be answered:
“Do you humiliate?
Will you make me suffer?
How can we suffer so much?
Is it beautiful?”
These often fleeting, vague statements and questions call to mind works by Richard Maxwell such as “House” and “Good Samaritans”. (Rambert mentioned Maxwell as influence in a post-show Q&A hosted by Mark Russell, former director at P.S. 122).
Underscoring the piece is music by Alexandre Meyer, listed in the program as a composer-interpreter, and lighting by Pierre Leblanc. Mr. Meyer plays the guitar, table guitar, and daxophone, often producing eerie sounds that magnify the urgency and at times sobriety of emotions laid out in “PARADIS”. Leblanc’s use of theatrical and fluorescent lighting compliments the sound and action in much the same way.
“PARADIS” was last performed in January 2004 at Le Theatre national de la Colline in Paris, and is being presented at Dance Theatre Workshop courtesy of ACT FRENCH.
For a truly fantastic evening of theatre, “PARADIS” is a must see. Rambert and the members of his company Side One Posthume Theatre, present a rare spectacle that should be seen by everyone, especially those who think the grandiloquent Broadway scene is a paradisiacal-tour-de-force.
“PARADIS
(unfolding time)”
By Pascal Rambert/
Side One Posthume Theatre
www.actfrench.org
December 7 – 10 at 7:30pm
Dance Theatre Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.633.1974
www.dtw.org
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