Rey Camoy was a painter and artist of some distinction who left and returned to Japan in his later years passing away unexpectedly in his late 50's. His paintings often present strong memorable characters. And in this stage performance we see the artists creating and engaging with the creatures he brought to life, specifically an alcoholic and moth, a mirror, an elderly woman, a clown, a disabled soldier and a muse.
It's a low light stage setting and the opening scene and much of what follows has dark lighting and a moody impact, and indeed 'moody' is a word which underscores and underpins this whole performance. The opening has the camera focussing on the twisting, contorting back of the main protagonist and the lighting is spot on to capture and the contours and contortions. Mercifully for once the camera was choreographed just as well as the dancers. It pans, zooms, leads, follows and captures beautifully the movements of the performers.
The musical soundtrack is an excellent choice of tracks perfectly fitting the nature and intention of each scene. There is also it must be mentioned an excellent Hi-fidelity capture of the dancers reactions and vocalisations.
For approximately the first 30 minutes there is a sense of despair, anguish and isolation and the pace and style felt quite monotone. As an exercise in the exploration of dark, depressive emotions it's a tour de force but as an audience member it became tedious. However there is soon a change, a transition to a more invigorated and energised delivery.
There are some very fine performances throughout this show from each of the dancers. They are like a series of constellations passing across the night sky, the dancers moving from one setting to the next - it's eerie almost and like many excellent plays the show leaves a trail of questions and mysteries behind it.
Delivered Online
Show Time: Anytime
1 -25 Aug
Ticket prices: Pay What You Can
Tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/rey-camoy