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Greenside @ Infirmary Street – Olive Studio
Verbatim and movement are used to break down the implications of modern isolation and suggest more positive ways to look at the issue. Summary
Rating
Good
Systemic loneliness and the longing for human interactions are at the heart of this work by Australian collective Project Connect. Using verbatim, movement, contemporary dance and some snippets of live music, two people (Stacey Carmichael and Xavier McGettigan) embark on a journey of self (and mutual) discovery, wanting to head in the same direction hand in hand, as well as occasionally carrying each other like a burden along the way.
The show is broken down into bitesize sections, marked by titles projected on the back wall. These look at loneliness – and aloneness – from different angles, as a personal and social challenge. The outcome is an intimate portrayal of the experience that most of us faced first-hand during the pandemic and continue to deal with in an era where hyperconnectivity has curbed the necessity to share the same geographical space in order to communicate.
At times, we see the pair stretching to reach each other, which isn’t always a mutual desire. One of them might recoil at a simple touch, when the other is yearning for an embrace. In their vision of the world loneliness doesn’t necessarily manifest itself in terms of physical isolation but can also be the rejection of those who live around them.
When transposed onto the public domain, this sense of isolation presents itself with a familiar sight of strangers sat face-to-face in a train carriage. Both silently talking to themselves and avoiding eye contact at all costs, laden with their underlying social anxieties.
There’s a missed opportunity in this lyrical performance, as further meaning could have been released through more articulate forms of movement. A more imaginative stage direction could have tapped, for example, into acrobalance, where the crucial need for mutual support would have given a striking visual representation of the co-dependency that the subject matter implies. This could have been the not-so secret ingredient that made the show unforgettable.
Hopefully though, despite the searing topic, A/lone ends on a positive note, with a hard-hitting suggestion that the lonely person is someone who’s not happy to be alone with themselves and that their “only way out is in”. By looking into themselves and learning to love who they are, individuals can break free from the spiralling self-destruction that loneliness has led them to.
Written and Directed by: Janine McKenzie
Original Score by: Kirstin Honey
Produced by: Project Connect
A/lone plays at EdFringe 2023 until 12 August, 9pm at Greenside @ Infirmary Street. Further information and bookings here.
