One Welsh man dances out his father’s death.
3 Men Running, Sherman Theatre, Tanzcompagnie Rubato, Tue, 27 Jan ***
An abstract fusion of vision, sound and dance, 3 men running could make even the most die-hard of theatre-goers squirm in their seat. The long pauses of silence, super-slow motion movement and scenes of confusing thematic symbolism are not easy to digest. And yet as the experimental theatre piece from three-man company Rubato unravels, the unusual syncopated jerks combined with moments of such slow dancing you could also be excused for thinking nothing was happening, become background to the real gut-clenching aspect of the piece - emotional electricity.
The theme of death, which only really becomes apparent at the end of the performance, runs throughout segments of dancing, running and slow-motion. As the movements quicken and the atmospheric music pounds, images of the three dancer’s fathers flash up on a screen behind their silouetted bodies. The faces depict youthful 1940s men through to weather-worn days of their old-age and end with haunting pictures of them in hospital and finally in open coffin’s on their death beds. In an exclusive interview after the performance dancers Dieter Baumann, Guillermo Weickert-Molina and Welsh born Marc Rees spoke with director Jutta Hell about their personal attachment to the piece and how it came about.
Jutta explained how Dieter’s father died in April this year, and it emerged the other two had also recently lost their fathers. She said “In the beginning it was not clear we were taking this theme of death.” After reading the emotional email messages exchanged between the three dancers, Jutta felt touched by the trust in their relationships and wanted the recreate the sense of calm which she felt from their shared grief. The dancers brought material from their fathers’ lives - photographs, clothing and video - and Jutta decided to compose a piece around them.
In the performance everything on stage is connected to their fathers. A pair of orange protecting earphones and a jumpsuit, a pair of thick brown leather boots, three suit jackets and flat caps. . The artificial squares of turf come from their father’s mutual love of the outdoors and act as three dance spaces within the space. Dieter said: “it’s important that it’s the father not the mother so that we all had the same. All our fathers had an affinity with nature and landscape and gardening, so it seemed very appropriate.”
Marc Rees also recites in his native tongue something he wrote on the subject and even stops mid-dance to recount a touching story he remembers of his father from his childhood.
He talked to me about bringing his Welsh background to the company and this performance:
Each scene takes its time to unfold, with each dancer often creating separate combinations which come together in an eye-pleasing montage. The change of pace between scenes is refreshing and makes sure you haven’t gone to sleep in the slower pieces, and the choreography is often awkward and strained - mimicking the tiresome droll of day-to-day life.
It is the climax of the dance which seizes you by the throat and rams down the chilling message - death appraoches slowly but surely until it wrenches you out of the world with little time to reflect.
Jutta said: “For a time it was just pictures and really very abstract, but it allows you to look behind it and you can see something in it.”
Movements from the beginning of the piece are mirrored towards the end for effect. The final scene has Welsh dancer Marc Rees’s father singing an old Wesh song, and is emotionally poignant and incredibly moving.
Marc said:
It was cathartic to take something so personal and share the experience with men from three different cultures. I worked stuff out I had not processed and made something creative to honour them. It seems to have worked I think.
Dieter said:
During the rehearsal we were finding out the movements and it was not easy. Then in the performances I had to pull myself together and not get too emotional. We had a lot of talks about the history of our fathers - it was more like friends talking together.
Jutta said “For a time it was just pictures and really very abstract, but it allows you to look behind it and you can see something in it.”
The performance comes to the UK for two nights only, and this rare glimpse into three dancers struggle with life and death should not be missed.
See the full post-performance interview here:
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