Sometimes you need a little nonsense in your life to make sense of the rest of the world.
Choreographer Tupua Tigafua’s Shel We gives us nonsense in spades — wonderful, wild and wacky nonsense that is a pure pleasure to watch.
Of course, nonsense is darned hard work, and the sweat soaking the shirts of Tigafua and his co-dancers — Chris Ofanoa, Kosta Bogoievski, Jeremy Beck and Eddie Elliott — at the Festival of Colour was just a hint of what a frenetic, high-energy show this was.
It opens with one man riding on another’s back, pacing out steps by counting numbers that don’t always make much sense. They’re going somewhere with a plan, but it’s not obvious to us and doesn’t seem too obvious to them either.
Does he plant a seed? Does a tree grow and shelter people and creatures from the rain?
Brilliant use of sprigs of leaves creates more than just trees. Trees morph into four-legged herbivores, which bump into each other or get ridden by men or turn back into trees or become guns.
Guns? Are you following this? Was I? Who cares?
This surreal landscape was inspired by the works of American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, musician and playwright (thanks Wikipedia) Shel Silverstein, so maybe he’s the one to blame — or thank. He was obviously a busy lad.
Whatever. It’s a brilliant set of tiny stories that tend to intertwine, interspersed with superb contemporary dance.
Tight ensemble work breaks into individual lunacy. Lunacy coalesces into order — high-speed, faultless cooperation but with arms and legs going every which way. It’s dynamic and powerful, precise where precision is needed, and when it’s not it’s delightfully all over the place by design.
The show is packed with physical comedy and there are plenty of prompts for those who can remember their childhood.
Shel We is just fun. It’s original, inspirational, highly imaginative and accessible entertainment, and deserves to become a contemporary classic.
Review by Nigel Zega
