Fringe Review: Icarus

The story of Icarus is one of the best known Greek myths that has captured the imagination of countless people for centuries. It is a story of ambition, patience and sin. This modern adaption of the classic legend, directed by Dudi Zvedeniuk, takes place in a space devoid of the conventional narrative. Or at least it is an iteration stripped back to its most figurative and psychological parts.

Obsessed with the power of the sun, Icarus journeys to its centre to find the strength of its power. Told through dance, live music, vocals and costume this retelling avoids almost anything that can be seen as narrative preferring to meditate on the themes and feelings of the story.

Through the use of contemporary dance, choreographed by Sarah Carinci, the audience is left mainly to their own devices to figure out what the performance is conveying. The movement is purely contemporary and rarely attempts to show any literal meaning or narrative elements, acting as a Rorschach test for the viewer. 

Beginning as a movement piece set before a backdrop of falling feathers, references to the Icarus tale are few and far between. Preferring to focus on kinetic and mechanical motions; the trio of dancers effortlessly transition momentum between each other, frequently looking like a human Rube Goldberg machine. They rely heavily on each other to make sure these sequences look well executed. This is a trust never broken between the dancers - each finding their mark effortlessly allowing for effective transitions of momentum. Brief allusions to avian movements hint at the stories origin of the father and son soaring across the sea on wax wings before the fall.

Utilising live on-stage vocals and sounds, the mood of this performance is trance-like and solemn with small changes of pace influenced by the movement. The use of plucked violin strings, jingling bells and haunting vocals are all run through an intense reverb filter giving a dissonant and echoic sound to the performance. The performers often appear to use unusual time signatures which is to their credit.

The show suffers from a lack of obvious direction. By allowing vagueness to creep in at almost every opportunity, the performance could be titled virtually anything, and the viewer would likely never guess the genuine intention. While this may be true for many contemporary pieces, it is often strategic use of literal movement or other theatrical devices which allows the audience to be guided along for the journey, rather than left to wander on their own. 

The show as a whole is a promising piece that may not yet have quite taken flight. However, this is through no lack of ambition. It is a show that makes bold choices, much like Icarus, but perhaps is too close to the sea than the sun. A piece full of great movement, even if lacking in emotion.

3/5 waxy feathers

Icarus is showing at Chapel Off Chapel as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival. More information can be found here