Shadowland (Pilobolus) – theatre review

A remarkably adept, clever and enchanting tale of illusion and dance, Shadowland, by internationally acclaimed troupe Pilobolus* – founded in 1971 – also includes circus elements. As the first theatrical event of its kind to tour the globe, the 80-minute show without interval incorporates multiple moving screens of different sizes and shapes. It is a performance that merges projected images with front-of-screen choreography.

The story is a surreal experience of a young girl’s sensational world as she comes of age. Created in collaboration with the lead writer of the popular animated series SpongeBob Square Pants, Steven Banks, it is both dramatic and comedic. Shadowland is set to a rhythmic original score by American musician, producer and film composer David Poe, whose poetic work ranges from ballads to hard-driving rock numbers. The movements depicted on stage emerged from intense periods of improvisation and creative play, and combine modern dance with high-energy, fast paced multimedia innovation.

Pilobolus is known for its collaborative choreographic process and a unique weight-sharing approach to partnering and sculptural creations. It discovered this new medium for playing with lightness and dark when it developed ads for Hyundai and then performed at the Oscars in 2007, creating images of the films nominated for Best Picture.

So, to more detail about Shadowland: It is nighttime. In a small house on a small street, a teenage girl prepares for bed. She longs for independence, but to her parents she is still a little girl. With nowhere for her thoughts to go but into her dreams, she falls asleep only to wake to something lurking behind her bedroom wall — her shadow. The wall of her room suddenly starts to spin, trapping her on the other side. Unable to escape, the girl sets off on a journey of discovery, going deeper and deeper into Shadowland, looking for a way out. Strange creatures appear along the way, at once comic and evil, threatening and seductive. Crazy chefs try to cook her in a soup, hand monsters threaten to crush her, she is transformed into a dog and a centaur finds a way into her heart.

Shadowland has the fluid logic of a dream, the grace of an acrobatic dance, the humour of a cartoon and the heart of a love story. The nine performers ensure the thrills keep coming with their highly imaginative work, which is both beautiful and intriguing, a sublime combination of art forms. To add further fuel to an already intense fire, they finish the show with shadow play set to two of the most popular songs ever conceived, transporting us from New York to Aussie shores. The audience was in raptures.

Shadowland is without peer, an exceptional and very, very special night of entertainment. It is playing at the State Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne till 16 August 2016, before touring regional Victoria, Brisbane (23 – 28 August), Canberra (30 August only), Sydney (2 – 4 September) and Adelaide (6 – 11 September), having already played in Perth.

* The name Pilobolus is derived from its biological namesake meaning a phototropic fungus that thrives in farmyards. To date it has developed a repertoire of more than 100 choreographed works.

Alex First