King | Shrine – The Complex – Dublin Dance Festival – Review

KING | SHRINE Emma Martin / United Fall – Ireland
Duration: 40 mins (No interval)

Dark Days Need Ceremony

As you enter the main space in the Complex, you can see quite a transformation has taken place! The room is dark, other than for a strip of fluorescent lighting high in the rafters. The performance is in the round, with seating on three sides and a wall of amps on the fourth, which looks more suited to a music festival than a Dance performance. The floor of the theatre is a mirrored surface, with light reflecting off it. Towards one side of the space is the shrine; a small mound of candles and other items, looking like a memorial to a saint or holy figure.

This new production by Emma Martin is billed as a “performance and installation work” and they have created quite an unusual and stylish setting for the production. The piece has three main parts to it. The first is a short introduction, with a recording of Hilary Woods, telling us a tale of the end of days. The text is by Emma Martin (with contributions from Wayne Jordan) and evokes images of an empty and desolate space. This text is on either side of a dance performance by renowned dancer Mufutau Yusuf (Junior). Mufutau is a regular in the dance world in Dublin, appearing in the work of John Scott on many occasions.

The soundtrack to the piece is a constantly changing work by Mick Donohoe, with sounds from a variety of sources, with street scenes, synths, and other electronic sounds. There is also a choral piece (Caligaverunt oculi Mei). This cacophony of different sounds allows Mufutau to move in a variety of different styles. The most interesting element is the use he makes of the smooth floor, as he glides over the surface, with barely any discernable movement of his legs.

With only a forty-minute run time, and the spoken word piece bookending the dance performance, it does feel quite short. However, the dance sequence is compelling and there is a charged atmosphere in the darkened room. At times it feels like a dance club or even a boxing ring. Mufutau Yusuf is an accomplished performer and this intense solo performance holds your attention throughout.

Credits
Creation Emma Martin in collaboration with
Dancer Mufutau Yusuf (Junior)
Music and Sound Mick Donohoe
Design Katie Davenport
Light Stephen Dodd
Text Emma Martin with some contributions from Wayne Jordan
Voice Hilary Woods
Additional music “Caligaverunt oculi Mei” Tenebrae Responsories, Thomas Luis de Victoria, arranged and directed by Mark Duley, recorded for United Fall
Costume maker James Seaver
Relight Eoin Lennon
Production Manager Peter Jordan
Programmer and Technical Manager Susan Collins
Sound System Tuathal McClenaghan
Velvet curtain fabrication Frances Whit
Wax sculpture fabrication Mick Kelly and Istvan Laszlo
Produced by United Fall