Review: Bunker
Danger can take many forms, from the physical to the online, but human responses are often very similar: immediate denial, physical ‘fight or flight’ reactions, panic, and then escalating fears resulting from imagining ‘what might happen next.’
Lisa Wilson (Co-Director & Choreographer) and Nathan Sibthorpe (Co-Director & Co-Video Designer) created Bunker as an exploration of ‘the physical threat of virtual alarm.’ The project drew on their interest in co-creating a new work, and in the ways in which Hawaiians responded to a 2018 false missile alert (even thinking about what receiving such an alert might have felt like sets my pulse racing… and I can’t imagine what having to wait almost 40 minutes before knowing it was a false alarm was like).
In devising the work together, ‘intermediality’ or cross-disciplinary collaboration was intentional; the two creatives devised the work together, described in AusDance by Sibthorpe as their seeking ‘to feel as though the design and media technology is acting as another dancer in the space – interacting but not necessarily integrated so much as to be invisible.’ They certainly achieved their goal.
Bunker features a clever interweaving of the work of the dancers with the fantastic audio, the stage design/staging, and the lighting/video projections. Congratulations to Wilson and Sibthorpe for assembling such a great creative team, including Rozina Suliman (Designer), Christine Felmingham (Lighting Designer), Jeremy Gordon (Video Co-Designer & Stage Manager). And a particular mention to Guy Webster (Composer). I absolutely loved Guy Webster’s composition and the soundtrack, from the blackly comic memories of Hawaiians during the ‘alert,’ through to the powerful music of the opening movement.
Bunker must be a challenging work to perform: highly physical dance, and occasional picture frame ‘trapeze,’ as well as integrating those moves with the impressive video projections. Hsin-Ju Ely, Jayden Grogan, Alex Warren, and Asher Bowen-Saunders (performers) brought out the beauty of the moving duets and solos, and conveyed the fear and emotion of perceived threats. Highlights for me included the electrifying opening movement, the wow acrobatic solo with the frame (both when the performer first leapt in/onto the frame and through to when one of the ceiling ropes ‘broke’), the moves behind and in front of the switch glass projection (with the added poignancy of thinking about what being trapped inside a bunker may feel like), and the fallout (first trickling down onto the dancers and catching the light, before the ‘dust to dust’ moment with the projection over the fallen dancer).
Image supplied. Credit: Stewart Tyrell, PhotoCo.
Aside from use as a term for golfing sandpits, ‘bunker’ generally refers to a place of storage or safety—albeit that, in war, people taking refuge in a bunker can become imprisoned or even entombed. That duality was cleverly brought out in the work—including contrasts between the hyperactive panic moves and moments of complete stillness, and the inside/outside switching (not only on either side of the projection screens, but also throughout … including the heat-sensing camera to show the cold water across the skin).
Bunker is a powerful interdisciplinary work, that speaks to audiences on a number of levels. It reminds us of the fragility and interdependencies of human existence, it encourages audiences to think about world events (and perhaps contextualises day-to-day worries against the bigger-picture threats of war), and it’s a stunning demonstration of the skills of the performers and co-creators.
The choice of Metro Arts’ New Benner Theatre is a bonus for Brisbane Audiences. Descending into the theatre, there’s a real sense of entering a bunker. Audience warnings suggest people who experience anxiety or panic attacks should contact the Box Office in advance. I came away thinking about the show, music, performances, and references to world issues; my only anxiety was whether I might get time to go and see this work again.
Verdict: Thought-provoking cross-disciplinary collaboration. A wonderful composition of physical theatre, contemporary dance, video projection, and sound.
Audience information: Bunker, Metro Arts, West End, Brisbane (19-22 October, 2022). 15+, some coarse language, haze / smoke effects, loud music, strobe lighting effects, and representation of heightened psychological states (website suggests people who experience anxiety or panic attacks contact the Box Office in advance). No late admissions. Tickets: $38-45 (plus up to $3.90 transaction fee). 60 minutes (no interval).
The reviewer attended the Thursday 20 October (7:30pm) performance.