Sustained applause followed the 60 minutes (without interval) of Dance Theatre of Ireland's Only Human on Tuesday night in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, and this would have been well-deserved if it were only for the athletic and controlled performances of the six dancers. But the piece itself, choreographed by Robert Connor and Loretta Yurick, with contributions from the dancers, was of much interest too.
Although the production used video projection (by Sheila Honan), this was not a rival attraction to what was happening on stage, as with DTI's last piece Soul Survivor. Instead the video served to reflect and multiply the barefoot dancers, as they were mirrored and multiplied by the reflective borders beneath the canvas box of the bare stage. And the dancing was all-important, with little narrative except for the stress on the basic loneliness of humans: the individuality, the difficulty in relating to others and the permutations of possible relationships.
At first, alone in Mark Gallione's cold blue-lit space, J.J. Formento twitches with nervous movement, his subsequent leaps and lunges so angular as to suggest a marionette rather than a human. He seems to fail to connect with either Niamh Condron or Olwen Grindley, and only when the lighting warms to rose and gold does Romain Guion actually partner Muirne Bloomer as if they were pulled together and apart by the surge of waves in Fran Hegarty's fine dramatic score.
When Robert Connor finally appears he finds apparent corpses strewn at his feet in a merciless grey light as the ever-present threat of death is explored, with a fine duet between himself and Formento, but chanting seems to unite the cast until they are dancing in unison, in Marc O'Neill's stylish black costumes. Well worth seeing.
Until June 20th at 8 p.m. Matinee on Saturday at 3 p.m. Booking: 01-6082461
