Scottish Dance Theatre @ Dundee Rep

The Dundee Rep sees a bold double bill by Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT). On their home turf, the dance company presents Second Coming and Winter, Again.  

After a hilariously shambolic opening, SDT slowly draw you into a performance that questions their practice, their roles as dancers and even the construction of the choreography itself. The situation unravelling on stage, combined with the playful relationships between cast members and technical crew, allows this work to remain amusing and entertaining. Created for the company by Montreal-based choreographer Victor Quijada, Second Coming is a cleverly crafted piece which allows the dancers to demonstrate their sense of humour as well as their skill. 

Winter, Again is another piece with a strong theatricality, confirming that this company can excel as much in characterisation as they do in dance. Norwegian choreographer Jo Strømgren has combined beautiful and technical dance with theatrical storytelling to create a work that gently meanders through the dark season of the title. 

Despite the narration interspersed throughout the piece, there is no clear narrative or meaning to Winter, Again. It seems to be a comment on human nature and emotions, a hint towards those primal traits we may not always want to acknowledge. This is accompanied perfectly by an eerie score comprised of songs from Schubert’s Eine Winterreise. While a definite note of humour remains, there is an underlying darkness to this work that creates an unsettling feeling throughout.

The gritty, murky tone, underlined by the off-white set, sits in contrast to the expected whiteness of winter - a whiteness that is constantly hinted at but which never really arrives. This is not a place of purity; it is a place of blood, of questions without answers, of a winter muddied with misdeed. Whatever the meaning, or setting, Winter, Again, it is a strange and beautiful piece, performed by SDT with convincing madness. [Rachel Elderkin]