Revisor - Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young
Performed by - Jermaine Spivey, Gregory Lau, Rena Narumi, Ella Rothschild, David Raymond, Cindy Salgado, Matthew Peacock and Tiffany Tregarthen.
Image by Michael Slobodian.
Act one, scene one; a female voice fills the darkly lit stage. The descriptive monologue notes what can barely be seen – a desk, a lamp, a filing cabinet, a door. Two men begin to move. They sit, stand, shift and gesture, their physicality mimicking the rhythms and patterns of the audible dialogue, now part of a lip-synched script that begins to shape the characters involved. Choreographed by Crystal Pite and written by Jonathon Young, this work is inspired by the 1836 farcical drama The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, first published under the title Revizor, which is how this production got its name. Through animated interactions and exaggerated physical presence, the cast of eight Kidd Pivot dancers tell the story of mistaken identity and corruption; the plot loosely following a government official afraid of his wrong doings being outed by a secret inspector. Whilst these topics seem loaded, the flamboyant execution of movement and the harmonisation of theatrical elements creates an atmosphere in the opening act that is light and humorous, similar to that of a slapstick comedy.
Transitioning into the middle section of Revisor, we meet the characters we have come to know stripped of exactly that, their character identity. All donning earth coloured, loose fitting clothing, and ditching the script that revealed each of their agendas, there is now no distinction between the physical bodies on stage. There is also a notable shift in the physicality of the movement itself. No longer grand and gestural, the performers intertwine in a fluid-like motion, weaving through the spaces between the body like a vine. With whispers of past dialogue heard in the distance, we are encouraged to remember details of the plot, however, this section deconstructs, unravels and explores what was hidden within the silences, an analysis that comes with the return of the observant female voice. Speaking both literally and figuratively, she comments on what is happening on stage. Noting that the ‘head of figure nine initiates descending curve’, two male bodies spiralling to the ground without breaking skin contact, the tension and highly charged emotional atmosphere created leads her to also vocalise that there is ‘manipulation from both sides’. Dark, distressing and absurd, heightened by strobing lights and fabricated shadows, this is far from the initial comedic physical theatre work we were introduced to. Only briefly reprising their character roles to reveal the extent of the revisor’s deception, with the drop of a head the bodies on stage fade into silhouettes and the curtain closes.
Image by Michael Slobodian.
Winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production 2022, Revisor is dramatic in pace and timing, flamboyant in execution and evolves beyond the façade of character and costume, making it well worth a watch.
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Click to stream Revisor at Marquee TV.