Justitia @ The Lowry- Review
Justitia – by Jasmin Vardimon @ The Lowry
Jasmin Vardimon is an exciting force in modern dance. Her show Park was one of the most exhilarating dance pieces I have seen on stage in a very long time. Last night her latest show Justitia finished its UK tour at the Lowry. I went along to cheer the dancers on with a couple of friends.
Justitia is an odd little show. On the one hand it is a full on dance piece, and during these elements it is stunning to watch. The flip side of the piece though, is a courtroom drama with more dialogue than you are used to hearing within Vardimon’s work. Jasmin began the process of the play by exploring the location of the courtroom. We follow a case, from its humble beginnings and watch as events are played out through the power of movement.
Creatively, Vardimon has given her performers the freedom to explore their characters and on the whole this works. The improvisational elements compliment the freedom of the dance. But there are slight jarring problems with the dialogue. One character played by Victoria Fox has to go straight from physical movement to dialogue, immediately. This causes problems for this talented performer as she is not given the chance to get her breath back.
The best moments in Justitia are during the non verbal scenes. One delightful element features two men jumping over the couch, play fighting against a backdrop of football on the box. It is such a joy to see the concept of masculinity within a dance piece, as so often men are almost feminised through via this medium.
There are many disturbing elements within this hybrid piece. Yunkrung Song’s character is abused physically and mentally. Watching this character struggle to fight back is emotionally quite draining as the beauty of the dance competes with the ugliness of the situation.
A spinning set containing many rooms; each with characters- stood ready to take you on a journey- really illuminates this fascinating concept. Shafts of light fill the stage as a lone character types the narrative. Text is used to brilliant effect here as it means that you are looking at multiple plot strands, like a split screen process in a movie.
Granted the second half seems slightly muddled and lacks clear focus, as there are too many ideas jostling for your attention. But, when modern dance is exciting to watch as this is, you can forgive the odd self indulgent moment. Park is a far better showcase for this freestyle performance though. I hope that when Jasmin comes back with her next show that she retains the danger and the beauty, but allows the characters to speak via the movement as it has a much more lasting effect.
Glenn Meads
whatsonstage.com