© Alain Dugas 'Chantier-Musil' reviews recent Co Francois Verret reviews more Suzanne McCarthy reviews

The set, also conceived of by choreographer Francois Verret, is the key to the piece. Its skeletal, multi-storied framework is substantive yet brittle, allowing the audience to peer into a fractured space where a variety of interactions take place – from solos composed of puzzlement and frenetic activity to an intense pas a deux charged with sexual, unfulfilled desire. The action is continually performed as if on precipice. A central issue is the contradiction of space – its confinement as well as its facilitation of movement on both the vertical and the horizontal.

Dimitri Jourde, Irma Omerzo & Francois Verret
dancing in Chantier-Musil
© Douglas Robertson

The dance is a complex intertwining of contemporary dance, breakdancing and acrobatics, resulting in a merger of compositions that are both compelling and frightening. The dancers intimately interact with the unmoveable pipes and the elastic wires. This is contrasted with staccato steps and kicks that give the viewer the impression of watching fracture pictures from an early black and white movie.

The piece draws its inspiration from the early 20th century writer Robert Musil, and extracts from his novel, The Man Without Qualities, are spoken throughout the performance. His work seems to be an unremitting statement on the futility of existence. Starting with an echo of the primal scream, the sights and sounds on stage relentlessly build in dramatic tension. At different points in the action each of the participants takes centre stage, often watched by the others who pace furiously back and forth just out of sight of the spotlight.  

Chantier Musil is not easy. Its beauty and intelligence lies in the deadly relationships it portrays and the sense of isolation and violence it delivers. The 60 minute performance takes the viewer into a place that is uncomfortable, but devastatingly intriguing. This is contemporary dance theatre at its best.