Dance: Recollections may vary

Jess & Morgs
Deepfake
director-choreographers Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple
performers Kennedy Muntanga, Rebecca Bassett-Graham, Cathy Grealish, Dylan Springer, Tommi Sutton, Marshall Stay, Grace Broodie, Freya Burdon-Watson, Eva Rose Fellows, Evelien Van Den Hondel, Claire Goose, Habib Nasib Nader
writer Jeff James • video design Dan Light
set/costumes Milla Clarke • lighting Simon Bennison
Sadler’s Wells East, Stratford • 1-3.Oct.26 ★★★★

Dazzling on multiple fronts, this fast-paced hour-long show unfolds its politically charged narrative using a mesmerising combination of dance, sound and technology. As the title suggests, the story involves manipulated video, and it plays out with strikingly visual trickery that includes green screens, camerawork, projections and inventive lighting. Meanwhile, the show makes important points relating to political subterfuge, asking salient questions about why the media feels increasingly untrustworthy.

Creators Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple, aka Jess & Morgs, keep the tension high from the start, as we watch the Prime Minister (Kennedy Muntanga) preparing to be interviewed by TV journalist Katie (Rebecca Bassett-Graham) about a disastrous series of events the night before. Not only is there a videotape showing him in a state of undress, but he arrived suspiciously late to a state dinner, where he was disheveled and erratic. "Witnesses say you were drunk," Katie says. "No, the video is a fake," he replies.

Dialog (voiced by Habib Nasib Nader and Claire Goose) is mixed into the textured audio track, while the performers lipsync it with broad physical movements that often break out into full-on dance pieces. These include solos and duets, plus a range of elaborate group numbers accompanied by eight performers wearing green-screen bodysuits. One of these carries a handheld camera to capture striking angles on the action, often following performers backstage.

We watch all of this on a splintering array of screens. There's the live action on-stage, surrounded by bright green. And on a giant screen above, we can see the combined images, with backgrounds and even second or third versions of the PM as he puts another spin on his account ("I can't be in two places at once!"). The way these interact is mind-bogglingly complicated. And there are also jaw-dropping sections in which the performers interact with projections of themselves that are being shot live from other angles.

Intriguingly, the choreography is pointed and rather academic, never emotionally engaging. Instead, it reflects the push and pull between a politician and a journalist who have grown accustomed to doing this dance. The mix of modern choreo with ballet is playful, as one of the PM's excuses involves attending his daughter's dance recital. Re-enactments of various situations are riotously amusing, leading to a huge disco break in the final act. And through all of this, there's a driving search for the truth beneath the sound bites. 

For details, JESS & MORGS >

photos by Foteini Christofilopoulou • 1.Oct.26

Dance: Into the void

Company Wayne McGregor
Deepstaria
director-choreographer-designer Wayne McGregor
dancers Rebecca Bassett-Graham, Naia Bautista, Kevin Beyer, Salvatore De Simone, Chia-Yu Hsu, Hannah Joseph, Jasiah Marshall, Jayla O’Connell, Mariano Zamora Gonzaléz
lighting Theresa Baumgartner
sound Nicolas Becker and LEXX
set Benjamin Males • costumes Ilaria Martello 
Sadler's Wells, London • 27.Feb-2.Mar.25 ★★★★

Taking its name from a genus of jellyfish, Deepstaria is a meditation on humanity's fascination with endless voids like the deep sea and outer space. Wayne McGregor gives his seriously impressive dancers demanding choreography that creates the impression of floating in weightlessness. And the set is a high-tech visual wonder, with inky blacks, dazzling lights and an audio mix that seems to send music and sounds right into our bones. It's an extraordinary experience for the audience, even if it's so intensely serious that emotional resonance feels just out of reach.

The dancers perform the otherworldly moves with unusual fluidity, seemingly floating as they stretch and spin around the stage. While there are a few sections featuring the entire nine-person company, much of this programme features solos and duets, plus a couple of intensely powerful trios. Each performer gets their moment to shine brightly. Movement is big, full-bodied and expressive, and the interaction is laced with subtle touches as dancers come together, sometimes echoing, competing or challenging each other. The highlight is an extended duet between two men that beautifully plays with balance and connection.

All of this takes place on a bare stage that is flooded with always moving lights, creating what looks like currents in the dancers' movements. The set may be made using Vantablack Vision, the light-absorbing coating that is used in telescopes, but it is thoroughly illuminated with lights that refract through constantly swirling mist. This adds to the sense of weightlessness and provides a couple of stunning moments, from a piercing light that breathes straight into our eyes to a shimmering rainfall effect that looks like magic.

Designed to make the most of the dancers' athleticism and physical grace, the costumes shift through the show, from black briefs to paper-thin sweats to tunics that are made from a translucent material called Japanese organza, which seems to drift in slow motion. They are transformed using coloured lighting, which maintains the show's continual shifting nature, as the movement switches from light and sweeping to sharply pointed, between solo numbers and communal pieces.

All of this is simply gorgeous to look at, performed with precision by the gifted dancers, while the complex sound mix is what guides us through a sense of emotional tonality. Intriguingly, this layered audio is programmed through the artificial-intelligence technology Bronze, which adds the unpredictability of live performance and could possibly be something live performers take exception to. But its visceral impact is undeniable.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Ravi Deepres • 27.Feb.25