Eight half-naked, white-painted bodies wait on the darkened stage as you are politely ushered into the venue. Seven are curled in the foetal position and one stands motionless at the back, as if overseeing proceedings. Amongst the full-house’s idle chatter, giggles and shuffling you take your seat, blissfully unaware of the shock that your senses are about to receive. For Brisbane-based physical theatre company Zen Zen Zo’s first appearance at the Fringe is breathtaking from start to finish.
A thrilling compilation of seven of their best dance pieces from the last ten years, Zeitgeist will excite, shock and move you. Director Lynne Bradley has combined the grotesque playfulness and eroticism of Japanese Butoh with the elegance of ancient Asian dance traditions to create an avant-garde dance style that is spectacularly unique.
In the first piece, Unleashed, the primal immediacy of the performance is apparent. Bathed in light, smoke and electronica, the performers leap rhythmically around the stage, slamming into one another and panting like hyenas. But it is clear how experienced the choreography is; as in much of tonight’s repertoire, symmetry and unison bring order to the chaotic intensity of each dancer’s performance.
The hauntingly beautiful Terror communicates a profound sadness regarding the state of world politics; the dancers reaching to the sky and then desperately and slowly advancing to reach out directly to the audience.
As the company stamp, slap and squeal to an electrobeat-accompanied finale, the audience greet them with rapturous applause. They have surely seen one of the finest dance shows to come to the Fringe in recent years.
5/5 
Ian Armstrong
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