Marzo

Arts House present Dewey Dell’s Marzo. The work is the result of international collaborations between Italian-based Dewey Dell, and Tokyo-based Assistant Director Kuro Tanino and Costume Designer Yuichi Yokoyama.

The piece is otherworldly, with the audience invited to view the action onstage as if it is taking place in a microcosm of a distant planet. Yokoyama’s set and costume design is fantastic. The white floor and backdrop suggest a vast expanse into nothingness and provide the perfect backdrop for the stunning costumes (in both design and construction).

Teodora Casetellucci’s choreography and the dancers' performances are authentic and engaging, with the robot characters being particular standouts. Where the work falls down, however, is the attempt to tie the performance to a narrative. The story is boring and continually distracts the audience by impelling them to find meaning in every action onstage. This is a problem because the way in which the sequences contribute to the overall narrative is not obviously conveyed through the medium of dance.

Japanese dialogue is provided with projected English subtitles presumably to address this somewhat. However, the dialogue is sparse and offers little to explain the motivations of the protagonists. Finally, Demetrio Castellucci’s score is jarring, loud (Front of House staff offer earplugs at the door) and, like the narrative, unimaginative. Marzo is not a terrible show; however, the elements that work fail to carry those that don’t.

Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne Festival, to 14 Oct