Published Date: 19 August 2008

Source: The Scotsman

Location: Edinburgh

Related Topics: Edinburgh International Festival

Dance Review: Mortal Engine

By Kelly Apter

MORTAL ENGINE ****

PLAYHOUSE

EDINBURGH in August always holds the promise of discovery, the hope that you'll

walk into a theatre and find something unique. Rarely does it happen, but the arrival

of Australian dance company Chunky Move heralded just such a find.

There are many words you could use to describe Mortal Engine, but perhaps the

most fitting is a simple "wow". Not because the dancers are better than anybody

else, nor is the choreography more inventive (in fact, the latter could benefit from a

little more diversity). No, the thing that sets Mortal Engine apart is the concept – taking

the movement of the human body, and translating it into light and sound.

Each wide stretch of the legs or curl of the dancer's body is accompanied by

computer-generated lighting, executed in a plethora of ways. Lying on the steeply

raked stage, spidery limbs winding around her body, a dancer is framed by a wide

black outline. When she moves, it moves. Later, every step a dancer takes sends

thousands of tiny light particles scattering across the stage, while another is pinned

against the wall, as if being electrocuted, jagged white lines shooting out from her

body.

For the most part, it is the dancers who trigger the lighting, with the help of a complex

set-up of computers and cameras.

But on two separate occasions they disappear into the background and let the light

show take over. Mesmerising patterns cover the stage, sucking us into a vortex of fast

movement and sound. When an enormous green laser appears, shining through

billowing clouds of dry ice, it is as if we have entered a science fiction film.

Utterly captivating and, that most illusive of theatrical goals, utterly unique.

Until today; 8pm

http://www.edinburgh-festivals.com/reviews/Dance-Review-Mortal-Engine.4403204.jp