by Four on the Floor
La Mama at the Courthouse until February 12, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Have you ever had a week when every event, conversation,
movie and book seems to be about the same idea? This week, everybody and
everything is talking to me about the soul;
Well, its not only about the soul, but notions of change, living
in the present, life not being a rehearsal, moments of bliss and "carpe
diem". Get the picture?
The most recent bubble of such philosophy was In A Soul by
Four On The Floor. (Rosina Gannon, Charlie Laidlaw, Georgia Power, Kim Leeanda
Wilson) It is an engaging toddle around the human soul.
The soul always looked, in my imagination, like a whole
peanut. It was cloudy with patches of grey, depending on how naughty you were.
The charm of Four on the Floor is twofold. They combine
honest and unpretentious personal stories with very neatly crafted form.
Greg Dyson directs them stylishly, keeping the show bouncing
along with few hiccups, no dull spots and lots of satisfyingly crisp
stylisation.
Snatches of text are drawn from sources as diverse as Dr.
Seuss, Carl Jung and Emily Dickinson (queen of the death poem).All of the
writers are concerned with concepts of self, dreams, visions, death, the
bizarre, joy and despair.
Four strangers travel on a train. The beginning of their
journey is repeated. They each have long tracts of boredom. They also have
moments of insight which are actually when our souls "drop in".
Actually, they are dropped in by soul droppers who hover
over us, pick the moment. Then they celebrate their success in giving us
heightened experiences, startling visions and spontaneous joy.
We see the women sleep and dream. We see them die and
witness the retrieval of the "black box" which records our lives and
is replayed in our final moments.
Four on the Floor capture in clown, movement, song (Chris
Falk) and story, the sheer ridiculousness and beauty of our lives and the
incredulity with which we face each magical crazy day.
Life is a gift, isn't it?
by Kate Herbert
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