[Theatre and Physical Theatre, Iran, SA Premiere]
Persephone
The Garage International @ Adelaide Town Hall Friday 15 Mar 2024
A clever duo dance within one piece of cloth conjures up images of a range of mythical creatures, morphing from one to the other. This show is also in continuous flux, alternating between life and death. The bare stage contains a tent, the small camping kind, which allow for some cramped costume changes. I believe it is also designed to take us outside, into the fields where the legend of Persephone reigns supreme. She presents the rebirth of new life in spring, the repetitive cycle of nature. The vegetation goddess, she married Hades, so she is also queen of the underworld.
Old stories are interwoven into the expressive action, and reinterpreted as the dynamic relationship between the two performers. The constant power shift results in the regular loss of one, with the various repercussions being victory celebrations as well as grief. In the most ancient ritual found, celebrating the recurrence of growth in spring, the participants alternated between laughter and tears; they mourned the loss, and at the same time they rejoiced at the return of what was lost underground in the winter. Their constant shape-shifting in this piece perhaps reveals a more modern take on this theme. It appears to be not only about the intimacies of a troubled relationship, but also a representation of the diverse parts of one person.
This symbiosis of self is beautifully choreographed to show how we attempt to incorporate our own disparate pieces. For example at one stage one actor teaches and tames the other as we would domesticate an animal. The inner turmoils, the triumphs and tragedies are all vigorously brought to life, and the actors’ intensity is certainly consistent. The strange garbled sounds of no recognisable language lend the performance a mysterious musicality. The question remains, do we deny and suppress it, or do we truly accept our being one with nature?
4 Stars
David Cronin
Persephone continues at The Garage International @ Adelaide Town Hall at various times until Sun Mar 17.
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The Clothesline Rating:
David Cronin
Symbiosis of self is beautifully choreographed and garbled sounds of no recognisable language create a mysterious musicality.
