Increpaci≤n Danza's one-hour dance-drama received deserved cheers from the full house on Monday. It is set in the eponymous women's prison in Barcelona, and the sound of slamming cell doors and light shining through a barred window helped to evoke the surroundings, while Peni Barratxina's lighting also suggested cold nights and stiflingly hot days. But these were only the icing on the cake created by the choreography and direction of Montse Sβnchez and Ram≤n Baeza, so fully realised in the acting and dancing of the five women.
To the recorded guitar of Nano, the drumming of Nan Mercader and the intense singing of Susana Trujillo, the dancers used flamenco rhythms in attempts to contact each other by tapping on the walls and, in passionate defiance, banging on their doors. We saw them in the exercise yard, using flamenco heel tapping to communicate, speech being forbidden. We saw their rivalry for domination of their group, the sensual washing of hair, the sexual attraction between two of them and the fighting that followed until, back in their cells, we saw their frustration and loneliness.
The imaginative use of five brown painted wooden boxes created all the settings, as well as providing percussion instruments for the dancers, and the mix of contemporary dance with traditional Spanish and flamenco styles was remarkably effective. Dra∅ocht is to be congratulated on booking this company on its way home from the Galway Arts Festival. Next time, we must have it for more than one night.