REVIEW: Blak, Whyte, Gray - Nuffield Southampton Theatres, Southampton.

Blak Whyte Gray is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Boy Blue’s hip-hop style dance was intensely energetic and totally encapsulating and, with the futuristic use of lighting and sound, I really forgot I was sat in the Nuffield Southampton Theatres. The performance consisted of 3 sections, showing the growth and change of a body of people from a society of entrapped and powerless citozens to a group of free spirits interacting with one another at their own will. The company included 8 dancers – each of which took turns in taking the lead, creating an utterly seamless piece of theatre.

The first of 3 parts of the show, Whyte, involved 3 dancers moving in synchronisation within a white box of light on the empty stage. The combination of the white screen and the intrusively blinding lights injected fear into the performance. This also demonstrated that hyperactivity isn’t freedom and presented the 3 characters as trapped in a white box of light. The street style music was bombarding, allowing the dancers to move with the music. Their movement became robotic in that it seemed impossible that a human could train their body to move with such discipline and fluidity whilst keeping in perfect parallel to the beat of the music. The pace began to increase and the movements became more erratic as it built to the climax of the piece and we transcended into the second section, Gray.

As the second piece commenced, the rest of the cast joined the stage and it became clear how immensely talented these individuals were. The change in lighting altered the dynamic of the group as they became cast in shadow allowing only certain elements of movement to be seen. This was deliberate in order to guide the viewer into watching the continuous movement of shapes, losing track of where each body ended and the next body started. This was almost unnerving as they seemed to be defying gravity and the natural movement of the human body, but was nonetheless fascinating to watch. The energy was maintained throughout the performance and I was shocked that not a single cast member even seemed to break into a sweat by the point of the interval.

The final piece, Blak, can best be described as an explosion. The use of lighting was impressive and original, particularly with the introduction of tribal luminous paint which, combined with iridescent blue light, created a psychedelic experience. This completely altered the atmosphere and once again the dynamic of the dancers on stage, generating a intimate and emotive performance. The cast bridged connections with each other and all of their individual energies became one united mass. This was also shown by the use of costume. In Whyte, each dancer was wearing post-apocalyptic style “uniform” but, as the performance continued, the costumes were broken down until they reached a point of bare chests. To me, this illustrated the authentic and honest relationships demonstrated and the strong bonds between each dancer. This made the performance, particularly Blak, feel organic and beautifully original. My only criticism being that in the midst of a highly emotive and personal performance the distraction of the squeak of cheap trainers became almost unbearable!

Despite this, the evening was one I will remember for a long time, due to the powerful and moving performances, which told a story better than any words could.

Reviewer - Grace McNicholas
on - 12/3/19