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drinks Monday 2 June 08
DUBLIN ... Colman Higgins describes the scope and history of Dublin Gay Theatre Festival ... and reviews two of its shows ... Down Dangerous Passes Road ... Confessions of A Mormon Boy /// LONDON ... film on now ... La Question Humaine / Heartbeat Detector /// BRIGHTON ... It's on till 26 May and here's at least 20 Things you might want to know about Brighton Fringe /// PEOPLE ... Who was there at Fringe Report's First Monday 5 May - photographs & article /// CULTURE ... One Culture ... film screening 30 May booking now ... details
Knots
Verdict: Dance of dysfunctional relationships.
Dublin 05 – Samuel Beckett Theatre – 20-29 September 05 – 20.00 (21.00)
Knots is about relationships and the way couples use each other to fulfill their psychological needs. Three couples dressed in wedding garb interact through dance, using a line of passport-photo-style booths and two psychiatrists' couches.
The six booths – complete with curtains – are used to great effect, with about half the show taking place in them. As the three couples dance in this restricted space, it appears to convey the restrictions imposed by relationships.
In one particularly striking image, every second curtain is closed and in each open booth, the men are seated and nodding, as if in a confessional. Then the curtains are drawn back to reveal the women dancing erotically in a red light, as if at a peep show – a shocking juxtaposition of the religious and the profane.
The text illustrates the circular futility of analyzing relationships – it’s easier to let the words wash over, rather than try to work out what they are saying. Sometimes the text does tell a story - a striking account of a drunken date rape; an account of a man assaulting a man.
There is a strong pattern of heterosexual symmetry throughout between the three couples, and sometimes there is gay interaction.
The show begins and ends with wedding scenes. In the opening scene, the three women walk with long trains on their wedding dresses, carrying along the three grooms, who are sitting on each woman’s train – showing how men can weigh down on women.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Muirne Bloomer, David Bolger, Robert Jackson, Eddie Kay, Emma O’Kane, Diane O’Keeffe.
Company Credits: Director – Liam Steel. Producer – Jenny Traynor. Devised by - The Company. Production Manager – Rob Furey. Text – Excerpts from Knots by RD Laing. Additional Text – Liam Steel and The Company. Stage Manager – Fearga O’Doherty. Sound Engineer – Alexis Nealon. Hair and Make-Up – Val Sherlock. Lighting Design – Ian Scott. Set Construction – Fayco. Stage and Costume Design – Ferdia Murphy. Production Administration – Nicola Dunne. Sound Design – Alexis Nealon. Publicity – Zoetrope. Graphic Design – Alphabet Soup. Production Photography – Chris Nash. Company - Coisceim Dance Theatre.
END
(c) Colman Higgins 2005
reviewed 29 September 05 / Samuel Beckett Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
