Their new work Orpheus and Eurydice, choreographed by founder Marie Chouinard, contains much movement, with elements of experimental theatre and Cirque du Soleil style circus but little actual dance. The performers must use their voices and faces as well as their bodies, speaking, screaming, grunting and producing exaggerated facial expressions while striking grotesque poses.

At one hour and 50 minutes, the piece was much too long. The first half was entertaining, if obscure, with a welcome leavening of humour. There were a number of interesting visual ideas and some genuinely striking moments, notably the use of lighting to silhouette the dancers in frozen, dramatic poses and a slow, erotic duet with extreme acrobatic lifts and balances. In contrast, the second half dragged. Opening with the tired device of a performer climbing through the stalls to get reactions from the audience, it was soon clear that Chouinard had run out of ideas and the remainder of the evening became repetitive and tedious.

There was a heavy emphasis on sexuality. Men and women were both naked from the waist up throughout apart from gold pasties covering their nipples, while the men stalked about from time to time in platform shoes with six inch heels which were a fetishist’s delight. This was an explicit production with a substantial amount of on-stage copulation. The orgiastic scene where several couples went at it hammer and tongs in a variety of inventive positions with broad grins on their faces was amusing, but the extended bout of simulated sex in the second half had no artistic merit and verged on the sleazy.

The energy and commitment of the performers were admirable and while a number of people left at the interval, the production was well received by those who stayed till the end.

Venue : The Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts

A version of this review previously appeared in the South China Morning Post.