Adelaide Fringe Festival’s Capture, from Playground, is showing at Colour Cosmetica, which is actually a Hair studio, so very small and very intimate. White cabinets all around with chrome and glass bi-fold doors, seating is for 25 or so in three rows of single chairs. Walking into the venue you immediately get a sense of being confined.
The venue itself is conveniently located in a street running across Rundle Street in the centre of Adelaide, directly opposite a car park and just a few steps away from some fantastic restaurants and wine-bars.
A detailed program is provided to all patrons, informing them of the background and education of the performers, and an overview of the performer’s interpretation of the show, and its focus.
The stage is in fact just a four by four metre wide area in front of the seating. There are melamine cabinets all around and, as the performers started dancing in this very confined space, I couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of them hitting the cupboards with a head, hand or foot; obviously an integral part of the performance, enhancing the confinement theme.
Above all of the cabinets in front of the walls are calico sheets, one of which serves as a screen for the video footage, which is an integral part of the show.
The show consists of three fifteen-minute performances with first three, then two dancers, and then ending in a solo performance. The story depicts the change from a couple forming out of a group of three happy friends, the development of a relationship that becomes confining and possibly aggressive, and then a performance that highlights the way that memories can be blurred, with a focus on the fact that photographs are simply a snapshot of a point in time, and can invoke memories that are not truly reflective of what was happening at the time they were taken.
The lighting and music changes for each performance, first bright and happy, then dark and angry, and finally muted and nostalgic.
Like most interpretive dance shows, this performance is an expression of the way some people perceive relationship development and/or degeneration. The acts themselves were generally energetic, complex and passionate. The two uncomfortable silences between acts that lasted a minute or so seemed at odds with the pace of the performance, but were no doubt intended to be a part of the overall theme of relationships that can change dramatically from good to bad.
The feeling of confinement of the space itself also flows into the actual dancing. The performers are clearly all very talented dancers, and make excellent use of the space, however it is evident that they have to contain and ‘cut’ their movements, which left me feeling that we were actually missing out on some really spectacular dancing as a result. Again, no doubt intentional, and in alignment with the overall theme, but for me I just felt that I had somehow missed out.
This show is certainly one for the interpretive dance connoisseur. An interesting take on relationship dynamics, but one you will need to analyse in order to really enjoy. I’m sure many would love it, but unfortunately I just didn’t.
Adelaide Fringe Festival: Capture
At Colour Cosmetica
20 -32 Union Street Adelaide
Dates:
Thu 12-Mar
Fri 13-Mar
Sat 14-Mar
Sat 14-Mar
Thu 19-Mar
Fri 20-Mar
Sat 21-Mar
Sat 21-Mar
