Five Ways To Drown | Pavilion Theatre

Star Rating: 4/5
Title: Five Ways to Drown
Venue: The Pavilion Theatre
Choreography & Creation: Jessica Kennedy, Megan Kennedy
Performers: Joshua Dyson, Eddie Kay, Jessica Kennedy, Megan Kennedy, Ingrid Nachtstern.
Review by: Lauren O'Toole

Junk Ensemble's Five Ways to Drown is an inspiring and playful dance piece choreographed by Jessica Kennedy and Megan Kennedy that interweaves banal, everyday movement with masterful acrobatic movement to explore the many ways one can drown. Be it physical or metaphorical drowning that Junk Ensemble are exploring, you needn't be intimidated by the greater meaning, even if you are a newcomer to the world of dance, as this is one of those shows in which the powerful aesthetic transcends everything else.
Throughout Five Ways to Drown there are signifiers that invite the audience to interrogate the balance between the generations and reflect on mortality - youth and age is depicted in Ingrid Nachtstern's sequences with Joshua Dyson - the two alternating between playing a grandmotherly type and child, Scout Mistress and fresh-faced Cub Scout. Mortality and vulnerability is not only manifested through the juxtaposition of the young and old, novice and teacher, but also in the physicalisation of deformity as Eddie Kay appears on stage in a type of palsy, slowly and disturbingly working his way out of the very vividly embodied paralysis.

It is disturbing images such as these that keep the audience enthralled - as do the leaps and jumps which repeatedly end in close calls: you will doubtless find yourself holding your breath in anticipation of a collision during Dyson's many confident acrobatics, or the ambitious twists and turns created by Kay and the Kennedys. This trio's intentionally imperfect manipulation of bodies occurs about midway through the piece and is a highlight of the show - identical twins Megan and Jessica do not rest on the obvious gimmick that comes with their cloned beauty but rather, use their remarkable talent to make something special a truly phenomenal sight to behold.

With a set designed by Aedin Cosgrove and sound by the Denis Clohessy, Five Ways to Drown is an all-round treat for the senses.

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Monday 2nd July 2012 | Theatre

586

Comments

• No comments have been posted for this article yet. Be the first!

Log in to leave a comment

Login or register to leave a comment

Enter your email:

Enter Password: Lost Your Password?