An Attempt to Talk With the Beginning of the World
Draíocht, Blanchardstown
★★★★☆
We’re upstairs at Draíocht, waiting to be brought into the performance space. We’re all relatively quiet, apparently curious to see something new. Anna Newell, the production’s director, is about to lead us into the show when there is a slight disruption: one attendee needs his nappy changed. But that’s okay: we’re here for An Attempt to Talk with the Beginning of the World, an immersive dance performance for three- to 12-month-old babies (and their adults).
Nappy swiftly changed, the babies and their caregivers are guided into a softly lit space where six low, cushioned pods are arranged in a circle. Each is lit from above by a gently glowing lamp, and next to each are several decorative items that the babies can play and interact with. Giving each baby the autonomy to choose how to interact with and experience the show is an integral part of Newell’s mission with her work.
Before the dance begins, she encourages the adults to speak as little as possible and to avoid trying to direct their baby’s attention towards anything in particular. What emerges is an organic, sensitive and magical 20-minute experience.
Two dancers in white ruffled costumes move through the space in swirling, winding pathways. They throw, drop and catch dozens of white ping-pong balls, lightly tapping out rhythms on the floor. Later they dance with glowing balls of light and put on iridescent cloaks, each carefully considered object or garment adding another layer to this shimmering sensory landscape. A twinkling and gently pulsing soundscape, occasionally punctuated by the sound of babies’ laughter, creates the auditory world.
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Afterwards review: Impeccable performances and crackling dialogue in a play with an unmistakable purpose
An Attempt to Talk With the Beginning of the World: Organic, sensitive, magical
Illness as Metaphor: A clever, moving and genuinely new piece of theatre
Jess Rowell and Hayley Earlam, the show’s engaging performers, make eye contact with the babies and sometimes dance around their pods or bring a ball of light towards them, but never in a way that feels pushy or invasive. The babies’ engagement is amazing – and moving – to watch. Some gaze on, entranced, while others bounce and clap. One baby’s adult has to cling on to stop her from leaving the pod for the dance floor.
Newell wants babies to experience beauty. It’s easy to forget that they’re both capable and deserving of witnessing it, she says; material aimed at infants needn’t tend towards gaudiness. Newell and her creative team have cultivated an environment of beauty and play that trusts each baby to experience the performance in their own way. It is an oasis-like space for the adults here, too, and a reminder of the deep reward of making art for our youngest audiences – or, indeed, for the beginning of the world.
Continues at Draíocht, as part of Dublin Fringe Festival, until Wednesday, September 11th, then tours to Tallaght, Letterkenny, Roscommon, Bray, Sligo, Limerick and Newbridge between Thursday, September 12th, and Saturday, October 5th
