Glasgow's Dance and Physical Theatre: A Preview

An immersive introduction to the extremes of contemporary theatre

Feature by Gareth K Vile | 10 Feb 2007

This month The Tramway plays host to the New Territories Festival of Live Art: three weeks of international experimental work that promises to be inspiring and frustrating in equal measure. Beginning with the five days of the National Review of Live Art, it takes in companies from Belgium, the UK and Turkey with internationally acclaimed artists performing alongside the local. As well as operating as an annual gathering for performers in the medium, the festival provides an immersive introduction to the extremes of contemporary theatre.

New Territories is like a demanding version of Celtic Connections: while the various performances are linked by their shared vision, individual shows are radically different. Glasgow's Anna Kryzystek presents Still on February 20th, a piece that is somewhere between art installation and dance, while Michael Clark - the hit of last year's festival - returns with Mmm… an exploration of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The National Review itself is notoriously uneven, having a mixture of experienced and new acts. Like a dark cabaret, its busy programme ensures that there is something to delight, then confuse and even offend everyone. It gives a fair representation of the Live Art scene. The lazy and dynamic, the thoughtful and thoughtless all share the same space. The huge variety of media on show, from film to spoken word, is staggering.

The subjectivity of Live Art can render traditional critical responses to quality and structure meaningless, while the sheer number of different performances make it almost impossible to identify a single event as a highlight. However, Michael Clark's work (27-28 February), having roots in classical ballet and boasting a company of talented dancers, will be perhaps the most easily accessible piece. Elsewhere, a day at the NRLA (7-11 February) is an uneasy pleasure that will generate a heated debate about the nature and purpose of performance.

Glasgow is well-served with physical theatre, and it is fitting that such a prestigious festival should find its home here: the works will doubtless generate further experimentation and provide a focus for a movement that is working beyond the confines of the safe and traditional.

http://www.newmoves.co.uk