The Act of Existing – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review
by Brian Merriman

The Act of Existing – Croí Glan
CHOREOGRAPHED BY PHILIP CONNAUGHTON
Venue: Project Arts Centre – Space Upstairs

The Act of Existing is possibly another term for what you are doing with an unfulfilled life. If you are not living, are you just existing? What fulfils you? Every life is affected by choices, your own and, crucially, those of others who surround you in society. This 50-minute piece sets out the many influences that change us from existing to living, the good and the bad choices.

One thing is certain: Philip Connaughton’s work will not be identical on two consecutive nights, because it’s the audience who often control the choices that impact on Bobby and Ben, our two very talented artists. We are even asked to choose at times between both of them, and we do make a lot of choices, which have an immediate impact on the lives of our dancing duo from Cork.

Croi Glan has incredible stamina, physicality and endurance. We sometimes lapse into the format which a lot of contemporary dance relies on: repeated sequences to wind up the plot. In this, I would have liked to see another new duet from the pair of gender fluid characters as a finale.

Instead, we got a highly skilled, energetic and physical sequence on repeat with a difference, except this time we got to determine what comes next. Do not be put off if you have an aversion to audience participation; this is non-intrusive, safe and entertaining. You raise your hand to indicate what happens next and when. You even get to choose the costumes. The Art of Existing is slick, comfortable and fun.

Another staple of contemporary dance can be to create a real mess, preferably wet, on stage. We are told by Front of House that we can not bring drinks into the venue; clearly, there is enough liquid on stage to quench any thirst.

But the clever construction and interpolation of choices really drives the message of this fine performance. There is charm, gore, sex, ambition, coarseness, pain, and it is all conveyed with a sense of playfulness that beguiles the onlooker. There is fun, some nudity, and bad language, but the playfulness of the handling of strong text allows it to ebb and flow in a performance that hugely entertains and impresses.

There is a contrasting musical underscore by Luca Truffarelli and Federico Ortica that I think influenced some of the audience choices, as we all bathed in the Blue Danube for a while. Add to that the visual presence of a cute dog, and you get the lovely mix of honest experience and mischief that infuses the art of existing.

Even in the slapping sequence, you can see the playfulness of both dancers as they risk the harder slap, aided and abetted by the voiceover arbiter, who doesn’t always call for change perhaps as quickly as the audience voted! But that’s all part of the charm, fun and the sense of freshness that pours from the stage.

Bobby Byrne and Ben Sullivan, the co-collaborators, are in supportive harmony throughout. They seamlessly duet, no matter what challenges they are set. They overcome a wet flow, an incredible head of hair and a fickle audience, who join in the sense of mischief as demanded by the plot.

The Art of Existing is an ever-changing challenge for the performers, who hugely impress. Their collaborative work with the youthful freshness Connaughton so often brings to his work sets up this evening to entertain, enjoy and admire. It needs a bigger audience, and the later 21.00 Hour performance times for the rest of the short run should facilitate more people to appreciate that even existing has its many merits.

Co-Artistic Directors: Tara Brandel, Bobbi Byrne
Dancers: Bobbi Byrne, Ben Sullivan (This work has been created in collaboration with the dancers)
Producer / LD / PM: Gearóid O’hAllmhurain
Designer: Emily Ní Bhroin
Composer: Luca Truffarelli, Federico Ortica