A two-part program comprised of In a Landscape (Russell Maliphant) and Afterlight (Daniel Proietto), maliphantworks4 puts out a fourty-five minute program full of twists and turns. Its first act, a solo performance by Russell Maliphant, founder of the much awarded Russell Maliphant Dance Company and choreographer of both of the evening’s performances, is a conversation between shadow, light, and movement, brilliantly designed by Panagiotis Tomaras and dramatically scored by Dana Fouras.
Maliphant himself is utterly captivating but it is the interplay between his stage presence and the diaphanous and dynamic set dressings that unfurl and undulate throughout the performance that make In a Landscape so inescapably enthralling.
The miasmic nature of simultaneously revealing and obfuscating lighting and gossamer fabrics is somehow both gently penetrative and aggressively enveloping. The sculptural bent of this performance is absolutely arresting and never muddy no matter how obscure.
Its second component part, Afterlight, is similarly beautifully lit by Michael Hulls and danced whirlingly by Daniel Proietto to Dustin Gledhill’s surprisingly tense performance of Erik Satie’s Gnossiennes 1-4. On a hauntingly bare stage and in a strikingly bizarre ensemble designed by Stevie Stewart, Proietto is impressive and tremendously skillful but lacks context communicable to an ignorant audience. Without demanding a degree of handholding, some of his concentrated energetic power is diluted by the considerable distance between the performer and the audience and the lack of set pieces to bridge that gap.
Including a short interval between performances this program offers audiences an opportunity to meditate on movement and proves well worth the effort expended.
Reviewer: Kira Daniels
Reviewed: 10th March 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 4 out of 5.
