Earl Rosas, Whispering Limbs, Bonemap |
Bonemap, Whispering Limbs |
Slithering under the scrim they undress to reveal silk slips—the men too, one in a lacy black number and the other in red. Now the performers are less constrained, transformed even. They slither out and once again we see their doubles in projection. This time they move through a midnight bushland setting, their urgent pace contrasting with the ghostly sentinel-like trees.
More striking moments ensue; memorable are the eerie image of a girl floating in a suitcase holding a single light globe, and an extraordinary representation of a live 'meringue' doll. Here, the performer brings an innocuous piece of white material to life. She emerges from it slowly as if from a cake or a cocoon. The material then morphs into a skirt which although voluminous restricts her movement. This beautiful metamorphosis may ultimately be a limiting one.
Rebecca Youdell, Whispering Limbs, Bonemap |
The theme of water is revisited in the form of three raincoat clad creatures in gumboots trudging over to a small pool. Here they proceed to drip and leak slowly from their costumes as if beings made entirely of liquid. Perhaps this is an ironic comment on water consumption in these times of climate concern.
Shadow play is another device explored in Whispering Limbs. At one point the three female dancers teeter behind the scrim in exaggerated heels, hats and structured hoop skirts. They posture suggestively, their shadows evoking a larger than life burlesque show. Here we are caught between the real bodies of performers and their darker spirits, privy to the interplay of the tangible and the ephemeral. This sequence climaxes with the arrival of a metallic frame structure, where the fish makes its final appearance. The bowl becomes a coveted item for the dancers, instigating a mad scramble for possession. Thankfully, the enigmatic man of the first scene ensures its survival. We are left with the image of this serene being holding the goldfish in the bowl, just as the world holds him in its lulling turn. Order has been restored.
Whispering Limbs evokes issues and images of spirituality, ecological sustainability, transformation and doubling, generating a metaphysical whirlpool of ideas and images. The media components integrate with the physical performance perfectly to produce a work that, in the end, defies categorisation. Beautiful and strange, Whispering Limbs is part dark ritual, part mad hatter's tea party.
On Edge, Bonemap, Whispering Limbs, design, media Russell Milledge, composer Steven Campbell, performers Rebecca Youdell, Earl Rosas, Polytoxic [Lisa Fa'alafi, Efeso Fa'anana, Leah Shelton]; JUTE Theatre, Cairns, July 9-11
Victoria Carless is writer and Associate Lecturer in Performance at James Cook University. Her new play The Shining Path will be performed at JUTE Theatre in November this year.
© Victoria Carless; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]