'Underland' keeps us on outside

By BERNADETTE RAE


The Underland-scape is apocalyptic, where survival, sex and the looming claw of death go hand in hand.

It's made vivid and absorbing by an unusually powerful collaboration on, round and through the music of Nick Cave (produced by Tony Cohen and substantially rearranged by Paul Healy), by choreographer Stephen Petronio, costume designer Tara Subkoff and visual and video designers Ken Tabachnick and Mike Daly.

And, of course, the extraordinary and spectacular bodies of the artists of the Sydney Dance Company.

This Underland is a dark and threatening place, with three video panels displaying rapid fire images of assorted chaos - mushroom clouds, a war-torn hill, a foetus.

But it is so fast, the movement so crisp, complex and upbeat, that it is far from depressing, long before we hear Cave's almost comic message that Death is Not the End.

There are 18 dancers on display and Petronio's choreography seems to rejoice in this virtual army of virtuoso performers, whisking them on to the stage in fluid formations at such speed and in such ever-changing combinations that there seems to be a least double that number of bodies.

The freneticism is punctuated by dramatic moments of calm, frequently featuring the tiny figure of Tracey Carrodus.

The costumes are spectacular: wisps of brief black, scarlet and green tutus worn with bra tops and garters, deconstructed army fatigues and, finally, all white.

The stage, apart from the projected images, remains undressed, and is gradually pared back to expose its insides. The work is entirely without narrative or theme, apart from the songs' emotional content, but the title implies an intention to move beneath the surface. Whether it succeeds is uncertain.

Underland is certainly impressive, stunning, a bombardment of talent and cleverness. But we remain on the outside looking in. It never quite gets under our skin, nor we beneath its.

Review

What: Underland

Who: Sydney Dance Company

Where: Aotea Centre