Atete — To Resist, devised by Swaroopa Prameela Unni, is a timely work that delves into significant topics such as domestic violence within immigrant communities, climate change and gender violence.
This performance is an exploration into the daily struggles of women around the world, their place in society and their rights over their own bodies.
Unni has choreographed this work in Mohiniyattam, a classical Southern Indian dance style for a solo performer. Her movements are deliberate and considered — she explains some of the movements in the opening sequence to assist the audience in understanding. While this may not appear to be an overly technical performance, her intricate hand gestures and expressive eyes hold the viewer's attention throughout.
The soundtrack composed by Jyolsna Panicker and Sandeep Pillai is emotive, ominous and foreboding, while Stephen Kilroy’s lighting is at times subtle, at others stark, but always respectful.
In the world there are currently innumerous incidents of inequality and violence. We, the audience, are reminded of this as the piece closes with images of protests from around the world: anti violence, equal rights, women’s rights, abortion rights, gender violence and climate change emergencies. Unni’s Atete brings all of these to the forefront of the viewer’s attention and will continue the dialogue on these atrocities.
Atete deals with some very confronting, real life struggles and at the very least the viewer will leave this performance with a lot to think about that will no doubt linger in our minds for some time to come.
