• theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  • theatre
  • features
  • faqs
  • contact
  Art Murmurs - Wellington Reviews

Reviews

Paradox

2/3/2023

Comments

 

Jack McGee

Picture
There is a lot of art about rebellion. Some might argue that the role of meaningful art is to challenge conformity. Pretty much every story ever told is about someone breaking off from the group, or deviating from routine. It is hard to be interested in the status quo. It’s a perpetual, unsympathetic, overdog. 
​
What I find most remarkable about Beth Alexandra Sammons’ accomplished experimental dance show Paradox, is how it complicates the story of rebellion. The formations Sammons arranges her dancers into on stage are so intricate,stunning, and exciting, that when performers begin to break away from them I’m heartbroken. I find myself longing for them to jump back in the line, return to conformity. My head quickly catches up with my gut, and I feel bad for wanting that. It’s brilliant, complex, dissonant art. There’s something beautiful in routine, in the status quo. If there wasn’t we wouldn’t have to battle through self hatred when we don’t fit in. It wouldn’t be so hard to leave.

Paradox is choreographed, lit, directed, and danced by Beth Alexandra Sammons. She’s joined by over a dozen other dancers on a bare stage. Together, they move their way through a series of distinct feeling sections -  to a variety of different pieces of music - that culminate in a cohesive and somewhat frightening whole. The show feels somewhat episodic but never in a disjointed way. Motifs are repeated, often subtly, between the sections, giving you the feeling that while disparate, they’re all connected. Sammons also has the confidence to vary the rhythm of each episode, violently cutting you out of some dances before I was ready, and holding on others longer than I instinctually thought I wanted. I’m not totally sold on the ending, and wonder if the pacing of the last five/ten minutes could be played around with a bit, but it’s not a glaring issue. The show doesn’t end on a bang, but it certainly doesn’t peter out on whimper.

To get this out of the way, I think Te Auaha needs to up their game when it comes to content warnings. Paradox uses a lot of flashing/strobe lighting and it’s not communicated anywhere that this is the case. They currently have a catch all sign outside the theatre saying that Fringe shows can contain a variety of different types of difficult content and to ask for details. I’m fine with this for problematic or difficult subject matters, but as my plus one pointed out, epilepsy is a high consequence health issue This isn’t really good enough.

Paradox also slightly overuses strobe lighting, but that’s neither here nor there. The bulk of the lighting design is spectacular. While rarely feeling showy, or distracting from the performances, Sammons is comfortable lighting very selectively, and often hiding her dancers in shadow. She puts agency on the audience to look deeper, to spot things. She lets performers linger almost out of sight for long enough that I almost begin to doubt if I’ve seen them. She compliments the shapes she builds on stage with light, often seemingly building around it, making the lighting design feel like anything but an afterthought. 


The dancing is spectacular. With a cast of over a dozen, I notice no weak links. Everyone is perfectly on-form, able to both blend in with the massive constructs of writhing limbs or hold your attention solo. These are performers capable of awe inspiring feats of spectacle, but also restraint. Everything they do is fully in service of Sammons broader vision for the show. 

I saw this show on Tuesday night, and the audience was frustratingly bare. I get it. Dance can be a hard ask, for those of us (myself included) who primarily engage with art via narrative. But this show is really good and I want to put my finger on the scale and say that you should go see this! The sheer talent and craft on display from each of the dancers, and Beth herself, is overwhelming. It’s on till Saturday 4th. Break the mould, rebel, go see this show. 
​
Comments

    Local Honest Reviews

    At Art Murmurs, our aim is to provide honest and constructive art reviews to the Wellington community.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    All Age Appropriate
    Art
    BATS
    Beauty Standards
    Black Comedy
    Body Positive
    Circa
    Circus
    Comedy
    Comedy Festival 2018
    Comedy Festival 2019
    Comedy Gala 2022
    Community Theatre
    Dance
    Devised
    Documentary
    Drag
    Drama
    Emerging Artist
    Exhibition
    Experimental
    Female Artists
    Feminism
    Feminist
    Festival
    For Kids
    Fringe
    Fun
    Gallery
    Gryphon Theatre
    Hannah Playhouse
    Heart + Music
    History
    Improv
    Interactive
    International
    Interview
    Ivy
    Lighting
    Local
    Mental Health
    Monologue
    Music
    Musical
    New Writing
    New Zealand
    NZ Comedy
    NZ Fringe
    NZIF
    On Tour
    Performance Poetry
    Photography
    Photospace Gallery
    Physical Theatre
    Political
    Politics
    Premiere
    Pyramid Club
    Queer
    Race
    Roxy LIVE
    Science
    Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre
    Sexual Violence
    Shakespeare
    Site Specific
    Site-specific
    Sketch
    Solo Show
    Song
    Spoken Word
    Stagecraft
    Storytelling
    Tahi Festival
    Te Auaha
    Theatre
    Thought Provoking
    Thought-provoking
    Thriller
    Toi Poneke Gallery
    Verbatim
    Victoria University
    Violence
    Virtual Theatre
    Weekly
    Wellington
    Wellington Footlights
    Wellington Repertory