Review: AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Sadler’s Wells
Andrej Uspenski
Company Wayne McGregor is no stranger to the Sadler’s Wells stage and this March they take ownership of it once more with not one but two performances spanning over a week. Beginning with Autobiography on March 12-13 followed by UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey March 15-16.
The first of the two, Autobiography, premiered in 2017. It responds to the word ‘autobiography’ as three words; self, life and writing and this work literally writes and shares moment across the stage through a selection of dances that are as reflective as they are stimulating. The curation of the overall performance divides each dance it contains into 23 sections. This mimics the 23 pairs of chromosomes of the human genome. For each performance an algorithm then randomly selects a different section of the parts to determine what will be presented. For this reason every performance is different and at Sadler’s Wells, over two nights the work takes its 95th and 96th incarnation. This truely unique and exciting concept brings the audience and performers together in a space where randomness is celebrated although also reminds us how we are increasingly at the mercy of technology. We have no choice but to be present and respond to what is presented to us both on and off the stage.
The pice is exceptionally well cast. The dancers feel inquisitive through their movements and each moment falls into the next, or, falls into a repetitive cycle of controlled chaos. The shapes and efficiency of each movement expressed by the dancers holds an animalistic quality, connecting the human with experiences that belong to other creatures as well. As each performer enters and exits the stage, there is a push and pull and endless flow of bodies. No moment is like the one before and a sense of a life lived in all its complexity is unravelled.
Rebecca Bassett-Graham commands the stage in particular, emerging as a principle body although all dancers complement and challenge each other with moments of tenderness and combat and a quality that you would expect from a Company Wayne McGregor performance.
Music by American composer Jlin is so present through the dancers and in the space, it takes on a physicality of its own. Crossing genres within electronica and classical it challenges the senses and viscerally takes charge. The dancers are not mealy supported by this sound design, they dance with it.
The simplicity of the set design from London based artist Ben Cullen Williams, integrates geometric shapes that that play with both the defined shapes and softens of the dancers bodies and at times it becomes a literal obstacle to provoke action.
Occasionally, stillness feels as if it would be welcomed as the work being so stimulating, it falls into danger of being overwhelming in moments, however, this is a minor qualm within an otherwise captivating pice of performance.
Wayne McGregor is a creative force who has been working in the arts for almost 30 years yet continues to challenge convention and bring his unique voice the the stage that in part becomes his laboratory. There is a reason why audiences continue to flock to his companies performances. Autobiography proves the relevance of his mind.
**** Four Stars
Reviewed by Stephanie Osztreicher
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