I remember the crunch of the pine needles beneath my shoes. I remember the light in the middle of the floor, with two performers wrapped around it, like yin and yang, lying on opposite ends of each other. The audience settled, the room got quite and it all began.
There was a circular space where two sisters, Lowana and Merinda Davies, would move within. As the light began to rise above them, creating a beautiful triangular vision of light upon them, they began to wake up. Slowly but surely the girls started to move, respond and react to the environment around them. Almost like a flower, the girls were blossoming and the light seemed to be the cause.
But that wasn’t all, the movement started to change, it started to become different over time and represent different aspects of their relationship. There were moments when the girls would try to break the invisible circular barrier around them, and moments where they would try to get up but kept falling back down again.
The movements were relatable in the sense that they were universal, you could relate this back to the meaning of failure - you try to get up, you get knocked back down again, and each time it becomes harder, falling again until you cannot get up. Until the light comes back into play, which helps the girls move again.
There were parts where each performer would grab the each other’s hair and move and twist while still being connected to each other. There were moments of connect and disconnect. Toward the end of the piece the performers say to one another, “Sister, I will never reject you” which is a powerful and touching line that reaffirms the connection between everything that we had all witnessed thus far.
There were moments in the air, and beautiful piano accompaniment by emerging composer Tom Lyons. This performance is truly a wonder and makes you reconsider the connections in your own life.
UMWELT Collective, Vulcana Women's Circus, THE FARM, GUSH Circus
Brisbane Powerhouse, Stores Studio
6-7 October
Joanna Letic