Critically-acclaimed Artistic Director and choreographer Stephen Page brings Bangarra Dance Theatre’s outstanding dance production ‘Spear’ to the screen.
The debut feature film features the talent of the theatre, and Stephen's son, Hunter Page-Lochard. The 17-year-old says even though he’s worked previously with his father, this time round was a bit of a learning experience for the both of them.
“This is the first time I've worked with him on a film, so that was his territory,” says Hunter. “He's the director… he was trying to grasp it, trying to understand it. It was like a bike with training wheels and I struggled a bit from time-to-time because I knew that world and I wanted to answer the questions for him. But I knew he needed to answer the questions himself.”
Hunter enjoyed the transition from stage to film. “The characters are not puppets, but they're vehicles for the audience because they're allowed to be carried along with the characters and their journey and the obstacles they experience. So they're like a spirit... They're a subject.“A lot has changed from stage to screen. I wouldn't say it's completely identically adapted from that stage production, but it's inspired. It's inspired by certain moments and elements and characters.”
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Hunter says the most challenging part of the production was the incorporation of dance. “I’m always worried about the dancing, whether I have to dance, as I’ve never been classically trained or gone through what the dancers can do... The dancers are in a studio [nearly] every single day working on their craft. I’m just a little, old, bony actor that comes in and dances for four weeks with them. I wanted to be a part of their troupe, and not just some dude that's trying to dance, so that was a challenge.”
The minimal dialogue and increased use of gestures is heavily used in the film. Hunter says it sets 'Spear' apart from other productions, making it a different type of cinematic viewing experience. “We’re used to – and it's not a bad thing – watching a film and hearing dialogue and working out stories through the words that are told to us. With this film, it's a lot harder because you have to try and figure out the story through movement and facial expressions. But at the end of the day it's actually easier I think, personally.
“It's what the film is for. You're not watching this film to leave and say ‘well that was a great screenplay, that was a great performance from that actor’; that's not what you're supposed to get from this stuff. You're supposed to come out and take a week to register something and think ‘oh, ok, so that's what I got from it. Fantastic'.”Hunter praises his father’s ability to strengthen the feelings evoked from watching the film. “When it’s on stage, and you’re sitting 30 seats away from the actual stage, you’ve got a 2D frame of the stage and the people, so you still get quite a connection.
“Imagine amplifying that connection. You can bring your audience's eyes closer to the stage, to the fingertips of that performer and still come back to the foreground to see the bigger picture. It basically [intensifies] the feeling. I think it adds more to the story; it just makes people interpret the story for themselves.”'Spear' is in cinemas 10 March.
