Resolution Review #3: THURSDAY 15 JUNE

Link to the full review with Rachel Elderkin’s views to compare.

Andrew Scott A Three Part Drama

Nikita De Martin 3m²

Sanya Malnar x Marianne RaynalB brain(s)

“Andrew Scott’s, A Three Part Drama, takes us through a dramatic loop of love and loss clearly demonstrated in the cyclical repetition of a dynamic, detailed gestural phrase. This is thankfully but inexplicably interrupted by a recitation of a voicemail that points to great feeling without entirely connecting to it. A third section juxtaposes as Scott refreshes the space with a delightfully lighthearted and exaggerated depiction of love. A predictable but satisfying ending comes as the original phrase returns yet again- I only wonder if there’s a way to rebel against the logic to find a more nuanced, perhaps emotional, approach to this cycle that this artist clearly possesses.

The stage is set for 3m² with a scattering of luminescent body castings, rocks and two wooden boards in the centre of the round. Nikita De Martin enters walking through the scene as she speaks cryptically about time, bodies and connection over ASMR sounds. Heavily metaphored, I find myself at times lost in the elements of the work, but the creation of a balance board reinvigorates my interest as De Martin brings real stakes to the performance. The instability strongly evokes the feelings of uprootedness, and I’ll choose to interpret the rest of the elements as the disconnection between body and mind she described.

Shaking things up with a duet, Sanya Malnar and Marianne Raynal perform an atmospheric exploration of ‘existential perception’. I appreciate how the two performers carve their individual experiences within the world they create, to the point where I questioned if they were even in the same world. Eccentric multi-plaid costumes and playful makeup are well-displayed as they pose intensely between punctuated black-outs. An effective motif of body-doubling, literally matching up their body parts, combined with well-placed unison syncs them together in their intentional, committed movement. One question remains: how can you end a piece when the world and the experience keeps on going?”