Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Transhumanist
Next Zone
Genre: Circus, Dance, Dance and Movement Theatre
Venue: Assembly @ Dance Base
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A physically demanding but inspirational look at how we intersect between real and artificial. This has been creatively structured to bring us through the miasma of debate towards a conclusion which is hinted at rather than shouted. We have a score that underpins and underscores the brilliance of physical movement that is the best example of intensive dance in hip hop and body popping seen for some time.
Review
We begin with one man. A tall young man. Blonde. Entering in the darkness dressed all in white. He is what our first section is all about. And in the time he has onstage, there is an introduction to a form of dance which is mesmerising through his skill base. Aside from me thinking that this demonstrates that tall fellas certainly can dance, it just takes you through the intricately observed detail of movement into a new realm. I was transfixed. I felt the utter boundary between what was robotic and what appears natural within the smudge physically between these two areas of movement. At no time did I feel that I was anywhere but putty in the hands of an assured and highly technically gifted dance artist.
And then there were two.
If I was already sold on how good this was, the introduction of a new dimension to the piece was heady. This took me out and beyond that. The interplay was exquisite between Martin Karlshoj and Malthe Orsted, the cooperation between them acutely observed and each and every movement between them served as a counter point to the message being delivered. The difference between the robotic within us and the external humanity wished for from machines is so obvious. It melted between them and gave a performance which spoke sufficient volumes that it whispered rather than shouted at me to convince me.
Accompanied by a pulsating soundtrack, thanks to Rex Casswell, that made everything flow, it became a conversation between the artistry onstage and the eyes watching from the seats. The intensity of the senses was heightened in the majesty of this impressive body popping and hip hop.
This had a really strong narrative to it. Questions that arose around human behaviour were observed, presented and then moved on from. The limits of their bodies were tested, and it gave us pause for consideration of how we appear when we move and how we present when we interact each with another human being and see ourselves in the context of any kind of progress. It did really come alive, even more so, when the two performers connected and cooperated before finding more purpose in the arguments between them. Up until that point facial expressions were redundant but here there was a playfulness that added a human dimension though also became a caricature of human expressions – hinting at asking what may be genuine and what may be false in the context of discursive physicality. This felt like a cry for the genuine humanity of warmth and connection whilst warning of the perils of ignoring the similarities without recognising any of the differences. I left with a lot of questions to ask myself.
And that came from the structure of solo work, giving way to a duo, choreographed by Lene Boel who also had the idea for this. We had a gentile introduction which was then added to by the new voice. That new voice asked the questions that the previous voice seemed to but with twice the efficiency, twice the volume and half the urgency. All felt a carefully visual metaphor, which as beautifully lit by Jesper Kingshaug – lighting designers are masters of the dramatic – and an effective series of physical conundrums that have the intellectual capacity to ask the most authentic of questions we seek answers to now but fail to always contemplate the variety of responses we could use in response. Boel just gave us a fascinating one.
