Review by Kate Gaul
“Palingenesis” by the Taiwanese D_Antidote Production is unlike anything I have ever seen.
From the press release: “Founded in 2022, D_Antidote Production is an aesthetically multi-disciplinary company dedicated to making work that isn't limited by form but for which the body is often the best vessel or vehicle for ideas and feelings. Drawing inspiration from both societal life and imaginative landscapes, the company wants to construct a creative mirror in which spectators might seek their own life remedies. The ultimate aspiration is to unite people and be a source of warmth.”
Three masked male bodies morph in and out of incredible shapes that are intertwined. Are they a primordial or intergalactic organism? A waking dream? Or is this a meditation of the themes of rebirth and life cycle? Almost four years in the making, “Palingenesis” is inspired by the phenomenon of “rat kings”. When a group of rodents hibernates, their tails can become knotted together by blood, ice or faeces, so that, on waking, they must function as a single entity. Choreographed by Taiwanese Chuang Po-Hsiang this is an undeniable event and one that resonates long afterwards.
The masks stretch over the face completely. Large eyes cover the dancers’ features. Deprived of their senses, the three figures see, smell, hear and taste through skin, the collective skin of the beings they create from movement to movement. This show dismantles human shapes to create a greater one, made of individuals bound to each other like the ‘rat king’. Despite their identities being eroded by their masks and collective movements, some moments remain where individuality finds its way to emerge in the performance. Nonetheless, only together can the bodies move: choreographer Po-Hsiang Chuang suggests a reflection on individualistic societies and on the importance of community, which is possibly the only chance towards evolution and metamorphosis. “Palingenesis” means regeneration and there’s a cyclical nature to this work. There is clearly a parallel, too, with human behaviour, but the thrill of this piece is witnessing something that looks as if it’s arrived from another world.
The sheer amount of sweat and athleticism is incredible. When the bodies aren’t moving sensually around each other they are slamming onto the floor – multiple times. The narrative and cohesion of these dancers is truly phenomenal. Supported but lighting to create a shadow play and add to the dreamlike (or nightmarish) quality of the work. The Taiwanese program at Edinburgh Fringe is diverse and worth catching as much of it as possible. “Palingenesis” is one of these.
Image Supplied
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