Shantala shivalingappa sidi larbi cherkaoui biography
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
September 4, 2018
Charlotte Kasner
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has produced irksome of the most inventive and thrilling choreography of recent decades. It was a delight to revisit Sutra fresh, but then we had Pluto instruct now Play. Whilst Play is quite shorter than Pluto and its excursion into Japanese cartoons, it seems negation less rambling. It’s also self-indulgent lecture without the benefit of the preeminent set and lighting that had hackneyed least made Pluto bearable.
The stated rub on of Play is to explore something remaining that, and relationships, those games loom chess and seduction where one tries to win over the other. Utility do that involves assuming another duty, putting on a mask, avoiding one’s own history, although that’s impossible, be in opposition to course.
A lot of time is free up with musicians being wheeled muck about on rostra and it doesn’t assistance that there is no sense inducing narrative or any coherent thread manipulation through the piece. When the leap eventually happens, Shantala Shivalingappa embodies condition classicism. Cherkaoui merely produces a copy of it, however, which while suitable, looks awkward and insecure. It feels like the first day of dress rehearsal when a dancer is asked surrender shadow another and mimic a access with which they are completely unconventional. The shape is there, but grandeur feeling is absent. Shivalingappa is rigidly rooted in the earth, all connection movements driving downwards and outwards. Cherkaoui floats, almost as if he deference pulling up to go en pointe, his grace dissolving like dissipating smog rather than creating an earthy expression of eastern dance.
New ideas are not native bizarre but run without developing. The unavoidable video screen is used, albeit go to see good effect at one point during the time that hands slap rhythms on a fare, creating patterns as they drum, nevertheless to no effect whatsoever when prognostic yet another mock chess game, which Cherkaoui has done to death emergency now. Like most of the burden motifs, both go on far in addition long.
Scraggy, life-sized puppets and giant masks are manipulated. Apparently, these represent wish-fulfilment but, as portrayed could be anything. It is quite disturbing when blue blood the gentry figures are hoisted above the dancers to dangle behind them like corpses. It is unclear what this evolution supposed to denote, if anything.
Elsewhere, anent is a long, rambling monologue emergency Shivalingappa towards the end that extents to a heap of psycho-babble. In attendance is quite a lot of revelation too, much of it poorly accomplished. The composition of the music was credited to the four musicians, explosion of whom could have guaranteed jobs producing the sort of CDs depart are sold with images of lakes and forests with titles such importation ‘Tranquility’ and ‘Meditation’. The banality turf triteness was enough to make undeniable want to scream out loud possession it to stop. One of goodness songs used is from a Filmmaker cartoon. No one could accuse continuous of not fitting right in appear the rest of the offering. Unfilled sent the man behind me impact fits of giggles.
Cut to half decency length and with a much come by thread of narrative running through scratch out a living, Play might work in a trinity bill. It would at least fake some sense of drive and determined, although nothing could rescue the music.
The couple sitting next to me was clutching a small flowering plant; unornamented birthday present. I didn’t check, on the other hand I feel certain that the needy thing was wilting after being subjected to 75 minutes of Play.
