20th Jun 07

What:
Grotesque Beauty and Whose Memory?

Where:
St Martins Youth Theatre, 44 St Martins Lane, South Yarra

When:
June 20 - July 1
Wed-Sat 8pm, Sat June 23 matinee 2pm, Tues June 26 6pm, Sun July 1, 6pm

How much:
$17.50 full, $14.50 conc, $12 members

Contact:
9252 0760

ThreeThousand has never attended a contemporary dance performance before. Not even accidentally while walking down the Bourke Street Mall when that belly-dancing lady is turning everyone on. So this was a big deal for us and we think we got it.

Grotesque Beauty is a part theatre, part dance work created by Emma Anglesey, who was recently accepted into St Martins’ new ‘Next Gen’ program. There are six dancers in the show and a virtuoso cello player. It all seems to be set in the 16th century where everyone is walking around the court (Venetian?) gossiping about one another and drinking tea. (So, pretty much like your Mum’s tennis club, but with more silk, less four-wheel drives). One minute it’s calm, paced, rhythmic, the next minute it’s bodies convulsing all over the place in wild, vomitous spasms. The thing is though, all of it is beautiful to watch and kind of funny. It’s like an aromatic tea with a kick of whiskey.

Alongside Grotesque Beauty, Jennifer Monk presents Whose Memory? It’s a short piece combining a photography exhibition and a theatre performance. It perfectly captures the abstract idea of developing a memory.

By Penny Modra

Medium: Performance

Drink: Bottle of red

Keywords: South Yarra, Theatre, Dance