I’d Rather Live In My Dreams Where I Am All Things At Once

On April 1, 2009, David Roussève’s theatrical dance company, Reality, performed Saudade at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. In Portuguese saudade is defined as yearning, nostalgia, or to be greatly missed.   Saudade is the third and final work in the Bittersweet series where Roussève explores the point where agony and joy collide.

 

For one hour and forty minutes without intermission, Roussève drew the audience into a psychological drama.  Not everyone in the audience had the emotional or mental stamina to endure the performance filled with shackles, foul language, and lesbian sex.

 

Those audience members who stayed for the duration, walked with Roussève from the beginning of “desperately trying to understand the meaning of life,” through phases of life, until the end where the realization comes that life may never be understood. 

 

One of the mesmerizing aspects of the performance was the way Roussève quietly walked diagonally across the stage from beginning to end.  Each step was slowly recorded while the dancers moved around him.  At certain junctures Roussève stopped the walk to deliver a monologue.

 

Each monologue told a story. In each story Roussève assumed the voices of the characters:  a former slave girl named Sally, an old man’s lonely life with an alley cat, a mother who loses her husband to rescue her children during Hurricane Katrina.

 

There was also the haunting interwoven tale of Roussève’s own life, his struggle to live in his “own spot on the earth.”   Even in these bittersweet moments, love survived as the overarching theme.

 

The soft sounds of Fado played in the background as the strong, sensual dancers moved around the stage.  There was a certain rawness highlighted when the dancers shifted into spoken word.  Each scene pushed an extreme and acceptance of what “is” life was barely tolerable.  It is no wonder the group is named Reality.

 

This is not a performance for children, those with weak hearts, or those who would rather keep their heads in the sand.  For the brave few who walk through life alert, go see Saudade at the Freud Playhouse.

Children Awaken Your Imagination

The scene opened with a dancing dog as the limericks came gushing out of the mouths of the actors.  The five member cast of Hoipolloi performed My Uncle Arly from March 27-29, 2009, at the Freud Playhouse as part of the UCLA Live Spring season.

 

My Uncle Arly is a story about Mr. Lear’s journey from England to Italy.  Edward Lear, poet, illustrator, and author, was born in 1812.  He was the 20^th of 21 children.  From age 15 he supported himself with sales of his paintings and illustrations.  At 19 he sold his first book.  He spent the later part of his life in San Remo, Italy.

 

My Uncle Arly is filled with wonderful rhyme and delightful characters such as the “pobble who has no toes” and the “dong with the luminous nose.”  The cast quickly changed into the characters as well as took on French and Italian accents.

 

Even though the play ran about an hour and ten minutes, on Saturday night the theatre was only a third full.  Perhaps the 7:30pm curtain time was too late for families.  It was a pity that more children were not in the audience to treat their imaginations to live entertainment rather than the force-fed mumbo jumbo of electronic media.  Those children who were present laughed at Hoipolloi’s slapstick performance, clever rhymes, and overall delightful multicultural performance.

 

For those parents who would like to support the arts and children’s creativity, please visit http://www.webplay.org and www.hoipolloi.org.uk.