Sometimes you witness something that makes you unsure if you left the same venue you walked into. In the Shadow of Time was one of those.
This latest Co3 offering, devised and directed by Raewyn Hill, was a breath of air you didn’t realise you needed. With sweeping soundscapes by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the acoustics in the Liberty Theatre made it feel like the space was designed for that very performance. Of course I know that not to be the case, but this show will really make you wonder if it was designed for that moment.
The ensemble consisted of 5 different people but I wasn’t entirely convinced they were indeed seperate physical entities. I couldn’t tell where one person ended and another began. Sure there were gaps between limbs, parts where the body ended and the fabric began before coming into contact with another body. These are all facts I intellectually know. But I don’t really know if I believe that to be true.
In the Shadow of Time. Photography by Stefan Gosatti.
The sweeping cyclical movements on the rotating stage felt like a current that I was swept up in. To call it intoxicating feels too crass. You simply were. As they were. The musicians and the dancers and the air and the lights and the space we all shared for… how long? My ticket tells me it was an hour. I don’t know what an hour is supposed to feel like or if that could be narrowly defined by such concepts as time.
As the stage slowed down its rotation towards stillness, and the musicians gradually lowered their instruments one by one, the force of the air pulled them all towards the front of the stage and they were bowing already. Was that it? Has it ended? Can I even feel the ground beneath my feet as I walk home and type this?
IN THE SHADOW OF TIME is dance devised and directed by Raewyn Hill, created in collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. It’s on at the Liberty Theatre from 17-20 September.