Review: Mariposa, The Place

Mariposa by DeNada Dance Theatre is playing at The Place, a self-named powerhouse for dance. Meaning ‘butterfly’ in spanish, Mariposa is a queer retelling of Madame Butterfly from a master of opera, Puccini. It’s always a nice idea to see how a classic story can be refreshed, so here we are, 120 years after the opera’s premier.

Keeping many of the original opera’s themes intact, Mariposa repositions the story to 1970s Havana. A Cuban sex worker, Mariposa (Harry Alexander), passionately falls in love with a visiting sailor, Preston (Daniel Baines) – akin to Puccini’s Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton. Preston later becomes drawn to the idea of a Western woman in pointe shoes, and leaves Mariposa bereft and heartbroken. Mariposa tries to become the picture of Preston’s desire, enduring dehumanising and traumatising sex work while waiting for Preston to return. When he does come back, Preston brings with him his wife, Kate (Holly Saw), the picture-perfect western woman he imagined. Pulled between his passion for Mariposa and his marriage to Kate, Preston decides to remain faithful to Kate. The tragedy stricken Mariposa dies, but metamorphoses into something akin to his namesake butterfly.

Even though Madame Butterfly has had staying power for over a century, Pons Guerra has revitalised something old into something which feels fresh and striking. Perhaps it shows us just how timeless tragic love stories are, or how important themes are still relevant today. Where Puccini’s Pinkerton turns away from a Japanese marriage towards his ideal American one, Pons Guerra’s Preston turns away from both Cuba and his attraction to a man, towards a ‘comfortable’ western, heterosexual relationship.

Cuba is a great choice for relocation. The music – half Cuban, half Puccini – has hypnotic rhythm pulsing with energy, giving Pons Guerra’s choreography a home to explore from. It also evokes an exotic mysticism with hints of Santería religion which feels as exciting and alluring as the passionate movement.

Pons Guerra’s choreography is equally as exciting to witness. Effortless storytelling through dance, the relationship between Mariposa and Preston in particular is dramatic to watch unfold. At first equally attracted to and repelled by one another’s body, eventually passionately intertwined and in perfect connection. When Preston returns, the push and pull between Mariposa and Kate is impactful and heartbreaking to watch. A sense of narrative within the beauty and flow of the movement is masterfully done to get the maximum feeling out of the events unfolding before us.

Bjorn Aslund and Elle Fierce complete the cast of five, all of whom skilfully tell this epic-feeling tale. In particular the transformations between Act One and Act Two are powerful, and the relocation to a Caribbean setting is exciting. Finding the crucial elements of Madame Butterfly that will resonate with a 21st Century audience is a clever idea, and having seamlessly translated them into a piece of dance theatre that stands on its own two feet, Pons Guerra has created something both timely and timeless.

Choreography by: Carlos Pons Guerra
Produced by: Sarah Shead / Spin Arts
Music by: Luis Miguel Cobo
Libretto by: Carlos Pons Guerra and Karthika Nair
Design by: Ryan Laight
Lighting by: Barnaby Booth

Mariposa has finished its run at The Place, but continues on tour in the UK until Friday 21 March.