WRITING

 

 

"Talented as he is at making both sharp, precise movements and graceful, flowing gestures, dancer Benjamin Hancock also does an excellent job of playing dead – something he demonstrates well in The Dark Chorus. His body goes limp as he is dragged around by others in the ensemble, who are dressed in mod-Elizabethan black gowns."

Lucy Guerin's Dark Chorus dances through light and shade

Pre Opening Review

Annabele Ross The Sydney Morning Herald September 23 2016

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"Anchoring The Dark Chorus are dancers Benjamin Hancock and Stephanie Lake. Hancock is the last one to unzip from the protection and confinement of his dress, yet he is also the character who is unable to find his way back to the darkness.."

The Dark Chorus creates chilling interplay between light and darkness

★★★ 1/2

Jordan Beth Vincent The Age October 10 2016

 

 

LUCY Guerin is not a choreographer to sit on her laurels. With every new project for Lucy Guerin Inc she embraces a different, solidly researched idea. All the shows in her extensive repertoire are unique into themselves.

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There are glimpses of her signature angular, breath-driven vocabulary in The Dark Chorus (premiering in the Melbourne Festival), but the piece is much more meta than a collection of choreographic phrases. A ritualistic structure breaks away from expectation; ultimately it’s an abstract, sometimes disorienting work that leaves much to personal interpretation.

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Around a clearly defined circle of light in the otherwise dark and wildly vast, heritage-listed Meat Market performance space, a procession of black, Victorian inspired figures shuffle, sway and whisper menacingly. All is not calm within the ceremonial pacing, as a featured ensemble strip to summery white clothes and explore a more complex and frenetic vocabulary, frequently goaded by the extended chorus to move more dynamically or make more eye contact.

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Are these subliminal voices inside one’s head? Or are they, as it appears, overt and external? This dichotomy propels the sustained activity, culminating in a more literal and extended sequence of the snarky chorus commanding step-by-step instructions for Benjamin Hancock to both dominate and be submissive to a plain cardboard box.

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The main dance quintet — Lilian Steiner, Tyrone Robinson, Jessie Oshodi, Stephanie Lake and Hancock are fully committed to the tense and singular focus of the experience. Lake, who has danced for Guerin for nearly two decades, has a veteran surety and the younger performers have a tight command of Guerin’s detailed style.

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Lighting designer Paul Lim’s centre light reveals more about the shades around it than the light itself while Robin Fox’s sound composition intersects with the rustles and hisses of the live chorus. It’s not until late in the piece that the costume detail — by Hancock and Harriet Oxley — comes into full view and this too forms an important component of the overall vision."

Lucy Guerin’s The Dark Chorus, as part of the Melbourne Festival

★★★ 1/2

Stephanie Glickman Herald Sun October 10 2016

 

 

"The Dark Chorus’s final phase diverges drastically from what has come before, utilising Benjamin Hancock’s svelte figure, long blonde hair and high kicks in a gender-bending dance pantomime. Hancock is distanced and elevated from his colleagues in this technical showcase, and for added comic effect he even dons a purple petticoat, a pale yellow turtleneck jumper and a red pointy hat. He is bossed around by the imposing group, and as any docile body would, he submits and performs – notably: gymnastic routines and sex acts with a cardboard box.

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Hancock’s ‘character’ then opts to disobey commands, and his defiance provokes the dark chorus to enter the performance space, ultimately ‘consuming’ him with the sheer volume of their black garments. The work concludes as the cast exit at the back of the stage, revealing a naked and lifeless Hancock on the floor."

The Dark Chorus

★★★

Luke Forbes Time Out October 10 2016

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"Gradually the chorus becomes more controlling, shouting out instructions during a quasi-combative duet between Hancock and Robinson to take more risks with their movement. Eventually Hancock becomes the target and victim. Alone, isolated and vulnerable in the centre of the circle, he is manipulated and humiliated as the chorus who put him through a series of routines with a cardboard box."

Guerin creates an intriguing world of shadows and light with a sinister beauty

★★★ 1/2

Jo Litson Limelight October 10 2016

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"You don't notice it as you first enter the Meat Market, but then a shadow catches your eye and you stop and take a second glance. And it's then you see a figure cloaked in a black gown, head down slowly walking in the darkness around a circle of light. And then you see another, and another, and another, until it’s all you can see, and you wonder how you didn't see them in the first place, which is the perfect way to describe the thoughts and themes explored in Lucy Guerin's brilliant dance work, The Dark Chorus.

Presented as part of Melbourne Festival, the show is an intimate look at the darker thoughts and voices in our heads and how they can consume us. Throughout the performance, The Dark Chorus can be heard whispering and chanting and while you can only make out some of what is being said, feelings of dread and fear slowly seep inside you.

Guerin's choreography is a juxtaposition of strength and weakness, of resilience and fragility. The five dancers (Benjamin Hancock, Stephanie Lake, Jessie Oshodi, Lilian Steiner and Tyrone Robinson) are incredibly committed and keep perfect time with each other in some complex and fast moves that demand much from their bodies. Hancock is a particular standout with extensions and flexibility that need to be witnessed and possesses strong control throughout some difficult and testing choreography.

The atmosphere in the large performance space is expertly created by Paul Lim’s lighting design, with one large overheard spotlight pointing down onto the stage being - for the most part - the only source of light in the show. The chorus walk around it, never entering into the circle and it’s only when the dancers remove their black cloaks (beautifully designed by Harriet Oxley and Benjamin Hancock with Chorus costume design by Jack Hancock) that they may enter. Yet even when reduced to plain white shorts and singlets - baring themselves to be free - the shadows illuminated on their face and body sends the message that they are still haunted and plagued by these thoughts; that there is no escape.

The tense composition by Robin Fox further supports the tenebrosity of The Dark Chorus with various sounds and music dropping in and out, creating a strong feeling of unease and never quite knowing what is going to happen next.

The Dark Chorus is within us all and for some it is less obvious and overpowering, but the struggle is always present. The meaning behind a show such as this will always come down to interpretation and what you choose to derive from it. Upon walking out of the performance, my initial response was one of bleakness and despair but upon closer reflection I found a sense of hope in The Dark Chorus, one that reached out to me, that told me this isn’t a losing battle."

Guerin creates an intriguing world of shadows and light with a sinister beauty

★★★ 1/2

Myron My Myronmy.me October 9 2016

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