When you think of an autobiography, do you think of a book written in the first person? How about a piece of dance theatre which explores someone’s life story through the unspoken and unwritten word?
McGregor is a choreographer who, for twenty five years, has been creating choreography which cross-examines life through the body. His professional practice is not only artistic but has intriguingly crossed over to scientific fields.
Changing the subject to tonight’s performance in the Lyric Theatre, McGregor investigates the body as an archive; a library of memories, moments, and mental states. He has utlised 23 personal recollections and life events and theatrically transformed them into choreography. 23 choreographic fragments mirror the 23 pairs of chromosomes which make up a human genome. Keeping with the scientific and mathematical theme, the order of the dance scenes was randomly selected by a specific algorithm before the show, so every performance is different.
This calculated, logical, and analytical approach to examining the relationship between memory and movement was innovative and fascinating. Especially, as dance tends to place an emphasis on the subconscious and the latitude in choosing how to move one’s body. Sadly, the result of converting this concept into performance failed to entertain and engage. Yes, you are able to interpret some stories and life moments from the routines, but the whole show highlighted the science and maths elements too much. It looked and felt cold and dark. It was like you were watching a laboratory experiment unfold rather than learning about the colourful and diverse life of McGregor. Scene titles such as: '1 avatar', '7 traces', and '15 instinct' were displayed at the start of every scene in a Brechtian way. This stop and start performance rule may have married up with the production’s intentions and style, after a while however the show became repetitive and stagnant.
The dance choreography encompassed various styles, from Ballet to Contemporary, even Street Dance Popping. In the group scenes, dance motifs were occasionally performed in a cannon-like fashion, flowing from one pair to another. There were points in time where a lot of activity was happening at once, it was difficult to know where to look. Some dancers were more emotionally invested than others. The sudden, almost shocking, change in tempo in the dancing felt humanly instinctive and intuitive. Designed by Lucy Carter, the lighting appeared to imitate the underlying mood and disposition within personal reminiscences. Unfortunately, it was blinding at times and you became distracted from the dancing on stage.
In summary, Wayne McGregor – Autobiography was the dance theatre equivalent of musical pointillism: arithmetic, precise, and punctual. While an attention-grabbing concept, the outcome on stage was sadly repetitive and underwhelming.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 30/4/19
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