Directed by
Natsuko Yonezawa – Set Designed by Byrd
Lighting
designed by Linda Buck
Belconnen
Arts Centre 1-2nd October 2020
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
A production
called “Mess” almost beggars the response “It was”. But in this case “It wasn’t”. Far from it.
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| Christopher Samuel Carroll - Miriam Slater (walking) Marlene Claudine Radice - Natsuko Yonezawa (seated) Image: Andrew Sirkorski |
Japanese-born dancer/sculptor, Natsuko Yonezawa, inspired by the Japanese phenomenon, hikikomori, has created a compelling work which will resonate with many enduring the restrictions of Covid-19. Hikikomori has seen more than half a million youths, and another half a million middle-aged adults in Japan, elect to become modern day hermits.
Incorporating
elements of Butoh, with its exaggerated facial expressions and slow-motion
movements, a haunting, unsettling music score performed live, together with an
evocatively lit, sculptural setting of dozens of small white cardboard boxes,
Yonezawa has created a hypnotic, constantly-evolving work to provoke and
challenge her audience.
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| Christopher Samuel Carroll - Miriam Slater in "Mess". Image: Andrew Sikorski |
She has
chosen her collaborators wisely. Christopher Samuel Carroll trained at Ecole
Jacques Lecoq, and already the winner of a Fringe World Overall Award for Dance
and Physical Theatre. Miriam Slater, is a multi-disciplinary artist who has
also trained in Butoh dance. Both have the skills to interpret Yonezawa’s ideas
and both exercised these skills with mesmerising affect, as they moved around each
other constantly, scrupulously avoiding contact, until finally, gently, discovering
the sensation of touch.
Complimenting
their efforts throughout, Marlene Claudine Radice, with the assistance of
Yonezawa, incorporated electronic sounds with those from cardboard boxes,
bells, clarinets and scraping violins to create a kaleidoscope of gentle
cacophony which created exactly the right tone and mood to evoke the
discordance of the modern world. Designer, Byrd, cleverly evoked this world,
utilising dozens of small white boxes and shiny surfaces, which during the
course of the performance transformed into skyscrapers, crowds and ultimately,
chaos.
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| Natsuko Yonezawa Image: Andrew Sikorski |
Because of
the nature of the work, “Mess” will evoke different responses from each member
of the audience. No doubt intended by the creator. But none will leave the
theatre unaffected by this superbly crafted, elegantly presented production,
which deserves to be seen by many more than will have the opportunity during
this all too short season.
This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au
