structure and sadness, 2006
Byron Perry and Kirstie McCracken, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Byron Perry and Kirstie McCracken, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
The collapse of the West Gate Bridge in 1970 is an event that remains imbedded in the public psyche of Melbourne. Thirty-five men lost their lives when a span came down during its construction. Structure and Sadness examines the bridge as a supporting and connecting structure. Its concrete and definable form contrasts with the unknowable grief and chaos brought about by its failure. On stage, the performers construct a precarious world teetering on the point of collapse. The work shifts between practical building of supportive structures and the impressionistic portrayal of disintegration and sorrow. Structure and Sadness is a complex dance work, which examines the impressionable human body contending with the unyielding inanimate world that surrounds it. It explores an event in recent history not as a factual narrative, but through physical, emotional and visual responses to a devastating accident. [Text courtesy of Lucy Guerin Inc.]
Antony Hamilton, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Antony Hamilton, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
credits: director Lucy Guerin, choreographer Lucy Guerin with dancers from the premiere production: Fiona Cameron, Antony Hamilton, Lina Limosani, Alisdair Macindoe, Kirstie McCracken, Byron Perry, composer Gerald Mair, motion graphics Michaela French, set, lighting designers Bluebottle: Ben Cobham and Andrew Livingston, costume designer Paula Levis, dramaturg Maryanne Lynch, producer Michaela Coventry
performances: ppremiere Melbourne International Arts Festival, Malthouse Theatre, October 2006; Sydney Festival, January 2007; Perth International Arts Festival, February 2008; Dublin Dance Festival, Ireland, May 2009; Schloss Festspiele, Ludwigsberg, Germany, June 2009; Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany, June 2009; Dance Theatre Workshop, New York, September-October 2009; Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, November 2009; Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, US, August 2010
Alisdair Macindoe, Kirstie McCracken, Antony Hamilton, Byron Perry, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
related articles in realtime
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philippa rothfield: lucy guerin inc, structure and sadness, realtime 76, december 2006-january 2007
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video resources
take it to the bridge
john bailey, the age, october 8, 2006
structure and sadness, lucy guerin inc
mark tregonning, pretend paper, october 20, 2006
structure & sadness, lucy guerin inc
diana simmonds, stage noise, january 10, 2007
a return to a deadly bridge collapse
roslyn sulcas, new york times, october 3, 2009
down under goes over well
quinn batson, offoffoff, october 5, 2009
Kirstie McCracken, Alisdair Macindoe, Lina Limosani and Byron Perry, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
photo Jeff Busby
Kirstie McCracken, Alisdair Macindoe, Lina Limosani and Byron Perry, Structure and Sadness, Lucy Guerin Inc
impressions of lucy guerin inc
christine jowers, the dance enthusiast, october 21, 2009
lucy guerin inc, structure and sadness
grace edwards, trespass magazine, november 29, 2009
structure and sadness, lucy guerin
stephanie glickman, australian stage, november 29, 2009
structure and sadness: melancholy and modernity
alison croggon, theatre notes, december 1, 2009
