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Upside Down
Drams 3
Venue Theatre Workshop
Address 34 Hamilton Place
Reviewer Daniel Winterstein
Upside Down is a dance piece inspired by Rembrandt's "The Anatomy of Doctor Tulip". It is skilfully performed by three young Russians to Concerto for Strings and Weird Noises (a haunting aural background, although with a few inexplicably wrong numbers). It is dark, original and unsettling - but at times becomes too incoherent to take its audience with it. A plot loosely based around Mary Shelley's Frankenstein sees a dysfunctional family knitting themselves babies, dancing pas-de-deux, merging doctor-patient roles and knifing each other in the back. The action takes place in an ingenious set, and is eccentrically costumed (though at times barely costumed at all).
It starts well, but then plot goes out of the window in favour of some indulgent and over-long pieces. Although technically brilliant, the choreography is sometimes emotionally flat. Moments of humour lighten a show which does not seem to have any point, but to exist merely as a well-executed visual curiosity.
Runs 20-24th August, 3:15pm.
© Alison Gale & Daniel Winterstein, August 18th 2002.
© Daniel Winterstein 1998-2008
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