Sometimes I Say Your Name Out Loud | Collectivist & Moment of Inertia
Our journey to purgatory begins by being greeted by the receptionist of hell who brands us by putting a purgatory stamp on our wrist, under a bright neon sign flashing purgatory. Embracing the hues of red and never-ending sounds of ringing dial phones, we take our seat in the auditorium, underneath an origami boat. Damn purgatory looks good, with a lavish red carpet, booze and a sickle.
As the curtain rises, we meet the three caretakers of death, the Priestess with her goddesslike aura and picturesque flower crown, Mort with her sickle and Ronnie, a janitor clown who captured our hearts with all of her imperfections and her endearing smile. We watch these characters gather and preserve souls which float from the ceiling in the form of paper sheets, with each group of souls having their own ritualistic passing. A highlight was when Nadia Jade glided on shards of glass on the stage; a powerful image of a woman having the agency to claim her grief and propel her forward.
Created by Maddy Grant, Phoebe Manning and Nadia Jade, this work had powerful spiritual meaning, embedded within each facet of the show. From the ritualistic locking the souls away in orbs and latching them onto an origami boat which over the course of the show descended onto the stage to Mort swinging from the air, looking for other lost souls. All these moments added to a creating a thought-provoking commentary on mortality, what it means to live life in both its darkest and most colourful moments as well the weight that our lost friends and family have on our chest. With the addition of Ronnie and her clown like ways, it made these said themes more approachable and digestible as we laughed with the pain and the nostalgia of our own losses.
Sending the dead to the heavens with El Condor Pasa will be a moment that I never forget. It made absolutely no sense but it felt like the ideal footnote to the show. Without any spoilers, the image the show ended with captured the kaleidoscope of emotions experienced in the show and the kinship these three celestial beings had, amongst all the hurt and painful memories they’d experienced.
Never have I been more mesmerised by a work of circus. Well done ladies.
