Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Fringe Review: The Operation of the Sun...
The Operation of the Sun in the Garden at the End of the World
Reviewed by Lorraine Ward
Click for big version
The Operation of the Sun in
the Garden at the End of the World
Part 1: The
Victorians
Ake Ake Theatre Company
Studio 77, Victoria
University, 77 Fairlie Terrace
24, 25, 28 February; 1, 2,
3 March 8pm; 26 February 6pm
50 minutes
$16 / $12 /
$10 / $8
We enter Studio 77 in the stillness of a Kelburn evening. There is a black stage, decorated with stones and driftwood. There is softly lit gauze at the back of the stage, and white sails that also act as screens for the shadow puppets.
I am feeling intimidated. The program notes have made so little sense to me that I am not sure if I am worthy of being in this audience.
Marmaduke Causeway,
the shadow puppet MC appears to explain that there are four
levels of depth in this show.
1. Literal
2. Allusion
(which only the elite will comprehend)
3. Occult
4.
Prophetic
I decide that I'm at level 1.75, plus or minus the square root of pi, and settle in to enjoy the performance. It is impossible to feel intimidated by Marmaduke and his pompous oratory.
The Shadow Dancer (Rhys Latton) dominates the main stage, with dance that echoes the rolling ebb and flow of the ocean. Behind the gauze the Victorian (Jessica Sutherland) lives in a world of lists - list of colours, herbs, clothes for a journey. Her music is that of order - the chiming of a clock, the ticking of a metronome.
The imagery is beautiful. Books become butterflies or symbols of balance. Driftwood becomes a pair of dancing shorebirds.
Marmaduke as MC, accompanied by other shadow puppets and by shadow bones, tells an ancient story celebrating the death and alchemical resurrection of a king, causing great joy and mirth among the audience.
For the finale the Victorian comes out from behind her gauze curtain, disembarking from a boat onto an unknown shore at the same time. She and the Stone Dancer unite for the hypnotic Dance of the Heavenly Androgyne, to beautiful pulsating music.
The
Operation of the Sun in the Garden at the End of the World
press release
Ake Ake Theatre: The Operation of the Sun in
the Garden at the End of the World
Scoop
Full Coverage: Festival
2006
Scoop
Scoop Independent News
Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.
Jim Mikoz: Look Out Rocks … Oops Too Late
Peter Dunne: Dunne’s Weekly - National And Labour Combine To Shut Out Greens
Ramzy Baroud: Voting Against Genocide - How Gaza Defeated The Democratic Establishment 
Alastair Thompson: Google's Support For Democracy And Media In NZ | Part 2
Eugene Doyle: BBC Goes Full Goebbels In Support Of Israeli Soccer Hooligans
Binoy Kampmark: They Were There First - Election Denialism, The Democratic Way