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| Show & Tell |
The clue had to be right there in the title of Michael Clark's latest dance production at the Brighton Dome Wednesday 11th March, harking back to the hugely popular long-running TV & radio show, otherwise known as '20 Questions' - a game of deduction with 3 categories: Animal (alive); Vegetable (growing); mineral (not alive, doesn't grow & comes from the ground) being the only clue given to the panel at the start of each round where the word must be correctly arrived at through a filter of questions. The audience, however, are privy to 'the mystery voice' announcing, for them only, the word to be identified. In this context a single spotlight was focused on a performer down on the auditorium floor - the visual equivalent of an aside - before the performance / game began. In keeping with the general cluelessness at the start of the process we had very little to go on, unable at this stage to even guess at gender: dancers looked identical. The music too gave little away, sweet and level in tone for several tracks.
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Clues EveryWhichWay
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With each question asked, or dance performed, a little more is revealed. It's possible, however, to think you know the answer, only to discover you've been on the wrong tack entirely. Clue succeeds clue: the dots still need to be connected. If for any reason you miss the word given at the start, it can be hard work getting clued up, but the false leads and misinterpretations are part of the fun of the game. Everything is a possible clue & this worked so well with lighting by Charles Atlas; costumes by Stevie Stewart, and music by Relaxed Muscle; Scritti Pollitti; The Sex Pistols; Pulp & others; plus little details, like 'drawing' (in a lyric) mirrored by the action of a dancer's leg (delightful!); and hand signals that showed: Pointing (indication / selection); Beckoning; Negation / Denial. All clues! With a lot of backtracking in the 4th piece: dancers reversing before advancing: recapping: eliminating dead leads, making new connections like professors & clerics (hands held behind the back).
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| Cut to the End |
'You can find a station with talking...' went the line of a lyric (dancers as radio tuning dial, and listener). Words should make things, but not always. Think of the scope for misinterpretation due to the absence of tone/ expression when texting which, like tofu, takes on the flavour of the recipient's state of mind. Text appeared on the back screen: disordered, back-to-front, random, sequential, breaking up. We seek to connect; search for meaning, look for signs & signals; tune in to wavelengths & good reception in the human zoo of life, where we're all performers of one kind or another. The costumes signalled significant developments along the way, from homogenous genderlessness to greater definition: 3 disparate colours up-front, shadow element behind, to a final glorious burst of orange. If the Oscars in the Oscar-making factory could party, they'd look like this, I found myself thinking; with just a hint of Clockwork Orange in dancer-as-chair pose. The audience was dazzled by mirror-spotlights: we were all in it together.
Mass media; mass production, and all-in-all a massive success, although there were times we were completely in the dark; but then - That's Animal / Vegetable / Mineral for you!
Good game! Good game! We all came out Winners - Thanks to the Michael Clark Company.
Thank you Ms Merized for your view of the Michael Clark Dance production at the Dome, who very kindly provided us with tickets when there was a mix-up. I concur with your sentiments. I had no idea what to expect, indeed, I thought it might be a little pretentious but I was soon mesmerised and was disappointed when it ended so soon.
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