The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Fund us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS


CultureTheatre

Russell Maliphant: Still / Current at Artsdepot

Russell Maliphant: Still / Current at Artsdepot | Dance review
4 October 2013
Nichola Daunton
Avatar
Nichola Daunton
4 October 2013

Featuring five performances, this collection of works choreographed by Russell Maliphant consists of solo pieces, duets and trios. Traces is performed by three men carrying martial arts sticks. Alternately a tool for drawing patterns in the sand, a violin bow with which to play along to the music, or a weapon with which to defend oneself, the piece, though enjoyable to watch, does not have a great impact.Russell Maliphant

Two on the other hand, a solo work by Carys Staton, is much more powerful. With a sonar soundtrack, the piece has a decidedly underwater feel, and Staton’s fluid muscles make her seem like a sea creature. As the music speeds up and shifts into a more industrial soundscape though, Staton’s movements become more angular, aggressive and energetic, even though she is apparently confined to the very small range of the spotlight above her. It is from this moment on that Michael Hulls’ lighting begins to steal the show, as Staton’s limbs blur in the light, creating a hypnotic effect. 

Still at first appears to be a solo performance from Dickson Mbi. A muscular and domineering presence, he is lit by strobe lights which create a rippling effect on his torso. Initially set to violent drumbeats, the music changes swiftly and Mbi alternately postures and hides himself, never wholly revealed. Staton joins him to perform a duet and the pair mirrors one another as they and the music hurtle towards a climax. Mbi is more powerful on his own however and the duet sadly serves to dissipate some of this power.still/current

Afterlight (Part One), which takes inspiration from the drawings of the great Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, is performed by Thomasin Gϋlgeç. Utilising the music of Erik Satie, Gϋlgeç’s dancing is initially jerky and confined but as the piece moves on, he breaks free of his spotlight and his movements become more free-flowing, though never moves into the electric sphere of Mbi’s piece. 

The finale, Interrupted Current, performed by Maliphant and Staton, is the evening’s longest offering, which is to its detriment. What can only be described as a Matrix-inspired soundtrack combined with the use of strobe lights makes the whole piece feel rather dated, and though particular moments of standoff between the two dancers come with a good amount of tension, it is not enough to sustain it.

Nichola Daunton

Still/Current is on tour until the 25th October 2013, for further information or to book visit here.

Related Items

More in Theatre

Tacenda

★★★★★
Georgie Cowan-Turner
Read More

Soft Animals at Soho Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Cyprus Avenue at the Royal Court Theatre

★★★★★
Musanna Ahmed
Read More

Only Fools and Horses: The Musical at Theatre Royal Haymarket

★★★★★
Ghazaleh Golpira
Read More

Shipwreck at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Come From Away at Phoenix Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Mortified

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Armour

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Berberian Sound Studio at the Donmar Warehouse

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Marighella
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Jeremy Loops and James Hersey at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • STEVE O SMITH autumn/winter 2019 collection presentation for LFW
    Fashion weeks
  • Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Tacenda
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Elizabethan Treasures at the National Portrait Gallery
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Soft Animals at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Win Schindler’s List 25th anniversary edition on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™
    Competitions
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Elizabethan Treasures at the National Portrait Gallery
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Soft Animals at Soho Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Aftermath premiere: On the red carpet with Keira Knightly, Alexander Skarsgård, director James Kent and cast
    Cinema
  • Cyprus Avenue at the Royal Court Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Only Fools and Horses: The Musical at Theatre Royal Haymarket
    ★★★★★
    Theatre

Instagram

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Fund us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Le Week-end | Movie review
Jonny Lang at The Borderline | Live review