The Act of Existing
Project Arts Centre – Space Upstairs★★★☆☆
“Ben or Bobbi?” The question is posed before the dancing begins and seems modest enough. Who would the audience like to see dance first? Over the next 60 minutes the questions proliferate. Which costume? Haze or no haze? Should the choreography change? But ultimately, how much control should the mob be allowed to have over the individual bodies in front of it?
For now, Ben Sullivan has been chosen and they begin a solo that feels autobiographical, like a kinetic business card: carefree lurching and falling, almost playing for laughs. Later Bobbi Byrne’s solo is drawn from movement that seems more circumspect: upright turning on the spot, striding steps and an overall sense of groundedness. Each dancer’s body introduces their individuality, but so too does text, like when Sullivan asks Byrne about her long hair and she reveals its importance in her path to identifying as transfeminine.
At the end, the action hits peak freneticism. A show of hands is deciding whether the dancers’ unison movement sequences should continue or move on to the next one. The audience is sometimes merciful by ending physically punishing moves, like slapping each other on the face or relentless jumping jacks, but it also has the power to become antagonistic and even cruel.
At one point, Byrne sings the Cowboy Junkies’ song Witches, which asks when we hear the call of witches in the middle of the night do we stay safe in bed with a lover or do we join them on the hills and dance in the moonbeams? The safe choice is conformity, especially when the crowd has made up its mind. Standing apart takes courage.
“Ben or Bobbi?” At first, the question is about who we would rather watch. By then end, it seems to be asking who gets to decide.
Runs at Project Arts Centre – Space Upstairs, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Friday, September 12th. Continues September 30th at Backstage Theatre, Longford, and November 7th at Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre for Uillinn Dance Season