Physical Landscape – Project Arts Centre – Review
by Frank L.

Physical Landscape – Choreographed by John Scott
Dates – 27 – 31 October 2026

Images by Ewa Figaszewska

The stage of the Project Arts Centre is entirely bare when we enter the auditorium, save for four of the six dancers who will perform the piece. Alessandra Azeviche, Bruno Senune, Favour Odusola and Bruno Charrion pay no heed to the audience, each engrossed in their own individual warm-up routine. The routines are remarkably varied, but what connects them is a shared elasticity and fluidity of movement. Initially, I was unaware of the other two dancers, Boris Charrion and Magdalena Hylak, standing several rows back in the auditorium. Facing the stage, they perform a synchronised routine involving their arms and heads. Their whip-smart, coordinated movements stand in stark contrast to the free-flowing warm-ups of the four dancers limbering up on stage.

After the necessary housekeeping announcements, Charrion and Hylak join their fellow dancers on stage, and Odusola announces that the entire audience is being asked, or rather required, to join the company on stage. After a moment’s hesitation, the audience complies. Once everyone has gathered on stage, Odusola requests that we form a circle. Once we follow the instruction, the six dancers arrange themselves in a ring around us. The first letter of the alphabet, “A”, is called out, and the dancers begin moving around us in a manner reminiscent of an ancient tribal ritual, taking their inspiration from the word associated with the letter.

Each letter of the alphabet is tackled in turn, with some prompting more than one word. The pace is brisk, leaving little time to reflect on either the words or the dancers’ interpretations of them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, “T” for “Tango” sticks in the memory. The journey through the alphabet lasts approximately ten minutes, and, reflecting on it as I leave the theatre, I realise that this is a remarkably satisfying form of audience participation.

Once we have returned to our seats, the performance proper begins with the first of a series of duets, each featuring a different combination of dancers. These are interspersed with several fast-moving ensemble pieces, which showcase the company’s collective energy and physicality. The dancers wear garments in which they feel entirely comfortable. This informality lends the performance a relaxed, unforced quality, while the dancers, particularly during the ensemble sequences, exude a palpable sense of joy.

Jürgen Simpson has composed a score that complements the dancers’ movements, just as their movements seem to respond instinctively to the music. The relationship between the two gives the performance a natural rhythm and flow. There is a sense of freedom about the piece, with the dancers’ exuberance carrying the audience along with them. The result is an intriguing celebration of movement, in which the joy of dancing proves infectious. The six dancers are all very different physically, but Scott celebrates their differences and melds them, combined with their individual skills, to create an engaging whole.