© Sheila Rock 'The Shadow' reviews 'Little Mermaid' reviews 'Snow Queen' reviews Diquero in reviews Tattersall in reviews recent ARC reviews more Mandy Kent reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months)

He came from a very poor background; his father was a cobbler and his mother a washerwoman who spent hours by the river cleaning clothes in the running water. We see the young Hans (Gildas Diquero), balancing on stepping stones, telling his mother (Joy Constantinides) stories and seeking her attention while she drudges on with her scrubbing.

The dim lighting and the gauzy screen covering the front of the stage created a dream-like atmosphere and allowed projections of images, both still and moving, to become part of the dance. This was particularly effective in the story of The Shadow. In this story an impossibly shy young man, The Writer (Gilda Diquero) sends his Shadow (Kenneth Tharp) to woo the Woman across the street (Cathy Marston). The Shadow enters the Woman’s room through her window and consummates the relationship, gradually taking over the writers life and leaving him as an observer of his own life, an empty husk.

The next scenes showed how Anderson was ridiculed by society, he often felt an outsider and though he was recognized for his talents, socially he was a mis-fit, terrified of having a relationship with a woman and obsessed with some of his male friends, he was clearly a repressed homosexual. Diquero is an excellent dance actor with a strongly expressive face, he captured the desires and rejections which Anderson experienced, his hopes and dreams.

The story of The Little Mermaid followed, with Matthew Hart dancing the drowning Prince who is saved by the Mermaid, Clemmie Sveaas. No Disney tweeness here, the story sticks to the original horrific tale where the Sea Witch allows the Mermaid to transform to human form yet cuts her feet so that each step feels like walking on knife blades, and takes her voice away, so that the Prince cannot recognize her from her beautiful singing.

 


Arc Dance Company's The Anatomy of a Storyteller
© Sheila Rock


The choreography here cleverly combines slow motion falling and waving arms so that we are convinced that the dancers are under water and sinking fast. The Mermaid cannot make the Prince fall in love with her and is faced with another dilemma, if she murders the Prince the Sea Witch will transform her back into a Mermaid, otherwise she must die. Unable to kill her love she fades into the foam on the sea, a projection of foam on the front gauze ending the tale.

The last story was The Snow Queen, with Fredrik Persson as Kay, Jenny Tattersall as Gerda and Bernadette Iglich as the imperious Snow Queen. Kay is carried off by the Snow Queen and the faithful Gerda eventually rescues him after many trials. Here the subtle shadow-like film images by The Quay Brothers really came into their own, with Gerda crossing forests and mountains to rescue Kay.

The piece was a dimly-lit gem, my only complaint is that it was not suitable for young children, yet there was nothing to indicate this on the promotional literature. Many young children attended the matinee, and their parents had probably expected a far lighter look at Andersons stories, popularized in cartoon versions. My own eight year old was not scared but could not really follow the narrative of the work. I’d certainly recommend this piece but would say that it is for the over 12’s and aimed more at an adult audience.