On entering the Judith Wright Centre’s cavernous performance space, it’s Andrew Mills’ steely, surrealistic soundscape that first makes your hair stand on end.
It’s mercilessly cold but oddly familiar and befitting of Lisa Fa’alafi’s desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland, littered with remnants of the lost and discarded (plastic bottles, cassette tapes, old mobile phones and battery chargers). It’s clear from the outset that choreographer Nerida Matthaei is not one for convention. In the nightmarish world of 'de-generator', there are no safety nets for audience or performers Alexander Baden Bryce and Amelia Stokes (both fearless and equally captivating as our end-of-days Adam and Eve). There’s no stage, and no seating bank. Ushered ‘towards the light’, we accept our own fates as other lost souls snagged at the end of the world.
Matthaei is an exciting talent and her vast experience across both contemporary dance and dramatic theatre works pays dividends here. Her choreography is entrancing, but it’s the strength of story and cohesion of design that make for a truly fulfilling dance-theatre experience. It’s an introspective work that scratches and snares, leaving us contemplating our own personal end-of-days and praying that we get there before the world does.
'de-generator' was staged at the Judith Wright Centre from June 14-21.
