This show from Russian ‘DO Theatre’ company, starts to the sound of a typewriter with bodies drooped over a table and a man in a top hat waiting to start the game. It then quickly descends into a chaotic tale of victims, perpetrators, executioners and suspects, carried out under the light of swinging lamps and to the sound of rustling paper. Three dancers, representing the characters of Damn Trinity -the Blind, the Deaf and the Dumb, depict a story of murder, investigation, trial and execution with the popular word game hangman waiting in the background for its moment of glory.
It is not all that clear what is going on in terms of the storyline, but this does not matter too much as the pure spectacle of the dancers’ energy, whether they are getting literally embroiled in the newspapers that are strewn all over the floor or eating spaghetti out a man’s top hat, keeps the audience fixated throughout. The music is what makes it so attention grabbing, it is relentless the whole way through and enables the atmosphere to change from sinister to farcical at the drop of a hat. Hangman is made all the more appealing by being in a venue that seems to have been built for the show: it is dark, mysterious and means you never know what is coming next.
This show will make you think- who is who? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? If this appeals and you like modern dance then this show is a must see.
4/5
Jake Phillips
