Mothlight | Skye Gellman & Naomi Francis
Mothlight is a beautiful example of how tension is incredible watchable. The show is a few scenes of physical exploration, set in a strange otherworld of a room. Bound and constrained by sawthes of plastic wrap, the show is never explicit. The performers explore relationship - between each other, between the physical possibilities of the room and the set, between their own internal and external selves, between their ambition and the physical limitations of the body.
The audience is situated wherever, wandering to find vantage points, being moved backwards by the encroaching performers, standing in shadow, or crouched mere centimetres from the event. It is immersive without being aggressive or insistent. The soundtrack of rumbling static is another reminder that all the bells and whistles of contemporary performance are but baubles, and a lo-fi experience can be utterly enthralling.
It's beautiful, suspenseful... for an hour I was completely elsewhere. And a completely perfect artistic experience for a final season in this venerable old venue about to close its doors.
Nadia Jade attended Mothlight on Saturday 8 Feb at MetroArts.
Skye Gellmann | Creator / Performer
Naomi Francis | Creator / Performer
Image credit | Darren Thomas - PhotoCo
