By Jennifer Beasley.
11 minutes and 49 seconds later I’m lifting myself up by my ponytail.
4 minutes and 16 seconds later I’m on the other side. And then 3 seconds after that I’m losing my grip. (Libretto by Holly Childs).
As a reviewer, I go to wherever my editor God, Kris Weber, sends me. Sure, I have choice. I can choose not to go, but how much is choice, how much is fate in this life we label reality? Where we feel suspended, hanging on a cliffhanger?
Offered as a multidisciplinary performance, Cliffhanger, running at 50 minutes, is an interesting mix indeed. Set in the Warehouse of the old North Melbourne Town Hall, now the Arts House, librettist Holly Childs (Holly Childs) sets forth a bold vision, which is skilfully performed by dancer and actor Angela Goh (angela-goh.com).
The stage floor, covered in white plastic, is dotted with multicoloured glazed ‘handhelds’, metaphorically either a climber’s hold on the face of a rock, a mouse for a computer, or a mobile phone (that’s my take on it). A wall to the side of the theatrical space holds space for 7 of these handhelds to be cached. A plank, angled to the other side of this cache, below the window, is also used in this piece.
The performance starts with the flexible Goh mimicking climbing (on the floor) to a superb soundtrack from Gediminas Žygus (Gnarled Roots, Hydrangra- Spotify) a mix of styles with computer stutters of electronic discord. Goh lifts the handheld, the music stops. A demonstration perhaps that she can disconnect anytime but chooses to engage once again with the white noise.
From this promising start, Goh then veers onto the angled plank.
I’m resting here for a while, she says.
And she does. For a long, lonnnnng, while.
I’m all for pauses and extended pauses, however – there is such a thing as too long of a break. From the general shuffling of the audience, it was clear that many wanted Goh to get on with it. Which she does, working with what she has.
The standout was the discombobulated effect of Goh ‘falling’ (rolling), into the rear wall, then side standing and looking up at the audience. I truly felt that I was above her. This ingenious change of perspective was effective and the moments when Goh broke the fourth wall, also drew the audience in, although her attempts to stare into people’s eyes (Goh has stunningly beautiful brown eyes), a theme of connection, caused some viewers to avert their heads.
And this was a hard ask. Especially for me. Not only to distend the discomfort of pushing the audience to experience silence, to interpret a deconstructed libretto (book) and the whole change of reality and perspective, but for one that has been blessed with ADHD (read: attention span of a fly with accompanying nervous attributes) it pushed my concentration gene to Force 10.
Yet I still felt moments of great intellectual nutrition in this disjointed monologue as interpretation varies so much. My companion felt that Goh was a computer, ts, ts, ts, her way to reality. I thought she was trying to climb out of her reliance on electronics, and the lady next to us didn’t have a clue, but said she love their work and saw everything they did!
Goh has great presence on the stage. Her charisma can easily capture the audience, it’s just a pity that the slow pacing and ambiguity made this a challenging viewing experience, when it should have been momentous.
Lost opportunities to add more into this, such as perhaps suspension from ropes and other balancing displays would have added layers to this performance.
In general, I enjoyed this performance and add encouragement to both performers and sound artist to keep refining this interesting work. Remember, you must play to the audience, regardless of how esoteric the themes.
For those wanting to muse on choices and the suspension of our power, and who can be still in the moment, go see this work and support our artists.
Cliffhanger plays at the Arts House at 7:30pm (Sunday 5pm) until Sunday November 17th, 2024.
Image:Gregory Lorenzutti
