Storm 1.0
Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin
★★★★☆
Many storm clouds gather in this visually arresting new Dublin Dance Festival production from Junk Ensemble. A scaffolding structure dominates the stage, which is lined with sheets of plastic reminiscent of elegant gauze drapes from another time and place.
As the wind howls, two figures seek the scaffolding’s protection. What might happen next is as unpredictable as the weather, as human endurance and resilience take many turns.
The dancers Amir Sabra and Imogen Alvares are the hapless couple attempting to reinforce their flimsy shelter, or practising falling from a height on to a mattress below, to test their ability to escape.
The magnetic connection they convey brings a sense of hope, their vivid duets, choreographed by Megan and Jessica Kennedy in collaboration with the performers, underlining the support that people can offer each other in the face of stress and impending disaster. Their very physical dance moves are warm and caressing, their body carries and limb-on-limb wrappings tender and intimate.
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The dancemakers also suggest some context to these phases, as the sequences are flecked with folk-dance steps and traditional Middle Eastern and Slavic dance motifs, a harking to an ancient, more peaceful time.
A wandering minstrel who joins the besieged duo, the tuba player Les Neish – dressed in a deliciously theatrical scarlet-and-gold uniform by Sarah Bacon, the production’s costume designer – brings a touch of surreal comedy as the trio try to survive this no-man’s-land.
Denis Clohessy’s atmospheric score counterpoints the action throughout, from joyful dances in a rainstorm to random frolicking in a tiny tent. As a crescendo approaches, the sky fills with flying objects, including kitchen shelves and a bright-green umbrella.
The image is comical, but its implications are bleak. Yet still they, and we, find the spirit to endure.
Storm 1.0, which ran at the Samuel Beckett Theatre as part of Dublin Dance Festival, will be performed at Cairde Sligo Arts Festival on July 9th
