Choreographed by Liz Lea
QL2 Theatre, Gorman House
November 2nd 2015
Reviewed by Bill Stephens
Inspired by the life and experiences of South African activist and political
prisoner, Ahmed Kathrada, this program of six short works, four of which were
choreographed by Lea, provided a compelling evening of dance theatre.
The first two sections, “The Garden” and “Kapture”, featured
Lea as both choreographer and performer, and commenced with Lea, dramatically
lit and strikingly costumed, head to toe, in dazzling green and red sequins, in
an artful setting by Christiane Novak decorated with fruit and vegetables.
Lea addressed the audience directly with details of
Kathrada’s background and experiences. She illuminated the words with graceful
eye and hand gestures, alluding to Kathrada’s
Indian heritage, before gracefully shedding the sequins, chameleon-like, to
reveal a simple black dress.
As details of Kathrada’s treatment and survival became
starker, Lea’s comments were overlaid with recordings of Kathrada’s words,
spoken by Bobby Singh, positioned to the
side of the stage, who played live tabla phrases based on the prison numbers of
both Kathrada and Nelson Mandela.
The combination of unexpected elements, enhanced by Lea’s own
commanding, superbly realised performance sprinkled with occasional flashes of
gentle humour, resulted in a mesmerising
work of beauty and intelligence which imaginatively honours an extraordinary
life.
After interval the program included two excellent solos
which continued the theme. “Freedom”, superbly executed in the Kathak dance
style by Shruti Ghosh, and “Kaught” in which Lea skilfully manipulated two
black feather fans to depict the predicament of a trapped bird.
Less successful was a long piece entitled “A Witness to
History”, choreographed by Lea, in which
members of the mature age dance group GOLD used their own individual life stories
to reflect on the period of Kathrada’s incarceration.
It was a well-meaning work which addressed the theme and made
good use of projected headlines from
past issues of The Canberra Times. The reason for its inclusion can be
understood, but the work suffered in comparison to other sections of the
program, because most of the participants haven’t yet developed the stagecraft required to
convey complex themes effectively. So while there were some interesting moments,
these were offset by others that were self-conscious and uncomfortable. The energetic African group “Troupe Olabisi”
which ended the program, while arguably appropriate, also felt curiously out of
place.
This review was published in the digital edition of "CITY NEWS" on 02.11.14
