At Theatreworks 14 Acland St., St Kilda until March 1995
Reviewer: Kate Herbert for The Melbourne Times.
Reviewed Feb 1995
Amazing as it may sound, in the 10th century, a Jewish-Arabic community thrived in harmony in Spain until that Catholic red-neck racist, Queen Isabella, ejected them as heretics.
Al Andulus, devised by Hildegarde with David Wicks as director, celebrates this phenomenon with an "animated narrative". Three tragic love stories from the period are performed with flamenco-inspired movement and mediaeval songs which give an added emotional layer to the fragmented text. It is enhanced by an exotic floor design (Peter Long) in gold and jewel colours seems inspired by Byzantine mosaics and Persian rugs.
The atmosphere is charged with sexual and violent energy. The pulsating flamenco beat, the intense gaze (Angela Campbell's Scottish ancestors must have seen Spanish invaders!) the beating of sticks and feet on floor, hand on hand, and the interspersed songs from Spanish, Arabic and Sephardic Jewish origins, create an almost elemental atmosphere.
There were moments when, mesmerised by the rhythms, I lost the narrative which mattered little, the focus of the piece being on form rather than story or structure. The composite of vocal and percussive sound with symbolic and abstract storytelling is the core of Al-Andalus. The vocal canon with all five voices was memorable, but accolades go to the seraphic voice of countertenor, Hartley Newnham.
The cast demand our attention, demolishing the fourth wall with a full-frontal and sensual performance style. The men (Wade Beed, Charlie Powells) exude both power and vulnerability, the women (Angela Campbell , Bagryana Popov) are rare, wild and sensual figures with flashing eyes and swinging skirts.
The most powerful and evocative images were fluid sculptures such as the very erotic seduction and the horse-riding abduction. The piece could have used more of these imagistic representations, particularly in the third story, which lost some momentum. The form was in place by then and there were no surprises left.
Kate Herbert
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