AUDIENCE REVIEW: Sun
Company:
Hofesh Shechter Company
Performance Date:
November 14, 2013
Freeform Review:
The decision was made to start at the end. To unveil the final, triumphant coda at the very beginning of the piece just to let the audience know, as a voice over loudspeaker proclaimed, "That in the end, everything will be okay." With its rather humorous entry point, Hofesh Shechter's "Sun" premiered at BAM in Brooklyn this November. The cast of fourteen certainly sent waves of raw, unbridled energy rippling through the house. Performers juxtaposed segments of reckless abandon with cheeky gestural phrase work, all executed with incredible control. Music paralleled the ever-changing moods and on occasion, built exponentially to a cacophony that ultimately reached a shattering point. The movement was at times humorous, at times rather violent, and at times done with exaggeratedly large cut-outs of predators and prey (mainly sheep and a wolf, but also various human figures).
A compliment is due for the choice of lighting. Drastic contrasts and quick, abrupt shifts in dramatic lighting were frequent, and there were moments of magic created by the shimmering patterns of the bulbs hanging uniformly from the ceiling.
Sure enough, the end was just as it was at the beginning, and the tumultuous journey left the audience with much to contemplate and the need to decelerate excited hearts.
