Fabulous Beast: Rian, Sydney Festival -
Theatre Royal, January 17 – 23 -
In a departure from much of Fabulous Beast’s previous work, Rian draws extensively on traditional Irish folk styles. Before you think “Michael Flatley”, it’s more like codified folk movement evolved from dancing around the village square. This emphasises individuality amongst the performers, with interesting differences in line and dynamic, but also results in a lack of overall variation in the piece, as one contemporary folk dance follows another.
This doesn’t mean that the work is not enjoyable. There is something inherently charming about the sheer Irish-ness of the show, with its vivid green floor and curved backdrop, green and brown dresses and three piece suits (complete with suspenders), and musical instruments I had never seen before. The exquisite music and song often made me wonder whether this was, in fact, a live music performance with dance or vice versa as the two forms worked so closely together.
Amid all the folk sequences there are a few welcome sparks. One highly amusing moment occurs when a male dancer (Keir Patrick) repeatedly performs a sequence involving small, ornate hand gestures and pelvic thrusts directly in front of the male concertina player (Cormac O Beaglaoich), complete with suggestive eyebrow wiggles. It is simple but hilarious.
The most memorable section sees a line formed downstage with the uilleann pipe (the characteristic bagpipe of Ireland) player (Maitiu O Casaide) at its centre. The delight I felt at watching his unfathomably fast fingers moving was echoed by the dancers and musicians seated on either side of him who gradually succumbed to a slow motion rapture, their floating limbs throwing shadows to darken the green behind them as they reached ever higher levels of bliss.
The encore too is a highlight, a simple solo performed by an incredibly fluid female dancer (Louise Tanoto) and gradually incorporating all the members of the cast, finishing with all of them reaching gently towards the sky. It is an elegantly simple image of hope on which to end.
Despite such moments, the scarcity of variation in the choreography means that while enjoyable, Rian lacks real excitement. The program notes mention the power of dance and music to reconnect each of us with our creative fire, but the sense of infectious fun needed for the audience to experience this was missing. Instead I found myself walking away thinking Rian was simply ‘nice’.
- EMILINE FORSTER