Monumental: Edgy, Unsettling Yet Riveting Dance from The Holy Body Tattoo – Adelaide Festival Review

Festival Theatre, Fri 4 Mar Monumental opens dramatically with a group of dancers from The Holy Body Tattoo standing menacingly on individual white pedestals. Behind them, barely visible in shadow the musicians from Godspeed You! Black Emperor begin their loud but haunting soundtrack for what is to follow. The bodies on stage begin to twitch and contort, while a series of epithets by Jenny Holzer are projected onto the stage. These are quite arresting, making you wish you could write them down for later reconsideration. Stark visuals by filmmaker William Morrison add to the atmosphere. The dance movements choreographed by Dana Gingras and Noam Gagnon are edgy and unsettling, and suggest that modern life is not a friendly nor peaceful place. However this section of the performance feels interminable, perhaps deliberately, and for quite a while it seems as if none of the dancers will make it down from the white boxes. However good the choreography, there is only so much human movement possible in such a confined space, and the repetition seems to continue well after its point has been made. When the dancers do manage to find their way down to the floor the choreography comes alive, is extremely physically demanding on the dancers, and riveting to watch. Again the theme of how humans relate to each other in stressful times is explored, and thankfully amongst all the physical anxiety there is room for some humour. A number of amusingly false endings have the audience confused about when it should applaud. The music by Godspeed You! Black Emperor fits perfectly. It’s a stroke of genius to be able to get them to play live with these performances. It seems that Festival Director David Sefton has been heavily involved in making this happen. For that he is to be applauded. An edgy piece that largely lives up to the accolades. Adrian Miller Image courtesy of Chris Randle