Our Seattle Rep season kicked off with a time change - instead of the usual 2 PM curtain, it was moved to noon. Not sure if it is a one-shot or the new normal, but the end result was an easier drive and more available parking, even though it involved getting up earlier on a Sunday morning.
But it was worth it. I think I've mentioned that one of the good things about subscribing to a season is that I would end up at performances that I would never normally go to. In this case, it is a Canadian acrobatic troupe. It is my understanding that if you live in Montreal you are automatically entered into the ranks of a performing group, and are expected to spend three months a year working on trapeze work. Sort of like jury duty in the States, but more exciting.
In this case the group is The 7 Fingers (Les 7 Doigt de la Main). And they are impressive. This particular troupe is a traveling show, and consists of (in alphabetical order) - Eric Bates, Valerie Benoit-Charonneau, Eduardo de Azevedo Grillo, Kaisha Dessalines-Wright, Marco Ingaramo, Nella Niva, Mandi Orozco, Santiago Rivera Laugerud, and Meliejade Tramblay-Bouchard (there are accent marks and the occasional carat that I am missing).
And the troupe is brilliant. During the performance, I mentally assigned them names like Hula Hoop Girl, Aerial Apparatus Guy, Woman Being Juggled, and Comic Juggler Guy. Each has a specialty and a moment in the limelight, but all are onstage continually, emerging from the chorus while others continue to spin and whirl on the stage itself. The continual movement on the stage is enticing and overwhelming, since so much is going on at once. It is well-organized pandemonium.
The plot? There isn't much of one beyond "Life is Journey". Our troupe are all passengers on a train evoking the middle of the last century, and they rock in their seats, climb over the baggage carts, move their suitcases, sleep and interact like a single organism made of random parts. There is some dialogue, but it is secondary, accent marks in the flow of bodies moving across the stage. One long discussion about how "Train travel is Time Travel" is ultimately drowned out by the train whistle. It is an active world, not an explained one. Even at the end, it is clear that stories have a resolution, but travel just stops. A lot like life.
There athleticism of the group makes my ancient knees hurt just watching them. The music, by Raphael Cruz and others, is pinpoint accurate, and the dance and movement dovetails precisely into it. It is triumph for Shana Carroll's choreography, and for the acrobats involved. Passengers is not about plot, but it has its own story, one of grace and movement. A good train trip, out of the ordinary, for the Rep.
More later,
