There is a quote from Scottish writer Nan Shepherd that is carved in Makar’s Court in Edinburgh. It says “It’s a grand thing to get leave to live.” Its sentiment could well apply to this French dance production about women and ageing.
The English term for the age spots that appear on the back of the right hand is liver spots. A kinder term is age freckles. Neither is very pleasant. Fleurs de cimetière (cemetery flowers) is the French term for the same thing. It sounds prettier but still a harsh reminder of a stage of life that has been reached.
There is an obsession in our culture about age. At least there is for women. While the proportion of older people in the population is probably greater than ever, women have to be in denial of the natural ageing process.
While younger men have lost embarrassment about grooming beyond the odd splash of after shave and token deodorant, with many embracing the choices of creams and exfoliants on offer in manly packaging, not so the older chaps. They are comfortable in their older skin (bien dans ses peaux anciennes). Good for them.
There is a line in this celebratory dance piece from French company Cie HERVE-GIL when narrator Fransoise Simon says, “To be a man!” That is the answer to anxiety about ageing. Of course, for most women they either make do with hair dye and anti- ageing creams or they can embrace the natural process with a smiling acceptance.
A set of lime green Tuilleries Gardens style chairs sit on stage awaiting the arrival of the five female performers all dressed in various shades of calming green. These are five women whose friendships go back a long time and it’s time to talk. Or not!
Through the medium of bare foot dance, and with the secret knowing smiles of the older woman they take on various shapes in fine fluid formation. They express sensual yearnings through the familiarity of self-embracing: that old dance with an invisible partner. They display familiarity with their bodies with affection and show the downward spiral of a relationship in a few gestures.
The music that accompanies the piece is eclectic ranging from a Gluck aria from Cecilia Bartoli through Piaf, Greco, Bush, Vivaldi and a fitting salute to women and to Scotland with the quietly gallus song The Good Looking Widow.
The philosophy delivered by Fransoise Simon is lightly comic using a fine (and very French) grammatical metaphor of ‘past perfect’ but ‘future simple’. In this affirmation of life, she decides it is better to look at the still pulsating vein than the wrinkles. That is the message in this joyous celebration of age in womanhood from this beautifully vibrant and feminine company.
Runs 6-15 August, 2.15pm
£10 (£8)
Suitability 12+