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 Da Contents H2

September 11 2013
Happy as Larry—poor Larry
Fiona Carter: Shaun Parker & Company, Happy As Larry

September 5 2013
Ethereal exchanges
Mike Bodnar: Polytoxic, Tradewinds

September 4 2013
A Winning punch
Nicola Fearn: Roslyn Oades, I’m Your Man

Not so strange strangers
Nicola Fearn: Polytoxic, Trade Winds

August 26 2013
Hands up, head down!
Fiona Carter: Roslyn Oades, I'm Your Man

Happiness against the odds
Kaye Hall: Shaun Parker & Company, Happy as Larry

August 26 2013
Larry is sombre
Nicola Fearn: Shaun Parker & Company, Happy as Larry

DARWIN FESTIVAL
Shaken out of the everyday
Nicola Fearn: Yumi Umiumare with Theatre Gumbo, DasSHOKU SHAKE!


The not so sweet science
Mike Bodnar: Roslyn Oades, I'm Your Man

Vigorous ruminations on happiness
Mike Bodnar: Shaun Parker & Company, Happy as Larry

August 23 2013
Art shocks, capitalism quakes!
Kaye Hall: Yumi Umiumare & Theatre Gumbo, DasSHOKU SHAKE!

DARWIN FESTIVAL
August 23 2013
Expectations and cultural crossovers
Fiona Carter: Tracks Dance Company, Zombies In the Banyan Tree


Kecak, breakdancing, tension & harmony
Kyle Walmsley: Tracks Dance Company, Zombies In the Banyan Tree

 

Happiness against the odds

Kaye Hall: Shaun Parker & Company, Happy as Larry

After 12 years in which circumstances kept her out of the arts, writer Kaye Hall is now Manager of the NT Writers Centre. She also runs Wordsmith & More, her own copywriting and editing business.

Happy as Larry, Shaun Parker Happy as Larry, Shaun Parker
courtesy the artist
Beneath a balloon-filled stage, a large black box serves as backdrop, blackboard, springboard and backstage for Happy As Larry (set design by Adam Gardnir), a dynamic urban dance piece from Australian choreographer Shaun Parker and his company exploring the nature of happiness.

The box provided more than a few surprises as the cast slouched against, hung from and sprang from its sides, performing a mix of modern dance, breakdance and acrobatics. Revolving on rollers, changing scenes, taking dancers with it, revealing others, the box also rolled backwards, making space for extended dance numbers. At one point it span at high speed, adding to the momentum of a rollerskater racing around in the opposite direction. Dancers disappeared inside, sat atop and leapt over it. One of the highlights was watching the whole cast parkour over the top, making increasingly daring dismounts. It also served as a blackboard and, as the show progressed, a touching dialogue in chalk was established between one character (The Observer), the rest of the cast and the audience.

According to the program, “the cast of characters is developed from the Enneagram, a psychological system that maps nine personality types” (program notes). I found myself focused on the Observer (Timothy Ohl). I enjoyed seeing him irresistibly drawn into the dance and communicating his thoughts and feelings on the board. In one scene he danced with the chalk, making marks in time with the music, articulating it beautifully in arcs, waves and lines: high, low, flowing, sharp, flat, round. This scene allowed time to dwell on the work of composers Nick Wales and Bree Van Reyk, whose electroacoustic soundtrack reflected the personalities on stage and the full spectrum of emotion in the dancing.

Wearing simple, coloured street clothes, the cast (six men and two women) danced their way into our hearts, jiving and diving below the surface, tapping into emotion and experience that clearly resonated with the audience. As they searched for happiness, we felt their hope, disappointment and sadness, but above all Happy as Larry made me smile: The Perfectionist, a fitness fanatic who would not be distracted by The Tragic Romantic; the Performer who exhausted himself winning the applause of others; the Optimist learning to skate. I enjoyed the headstands and the clowning— the playfulness of the piece.

Although intermittently drawn into the fun, the Observer remains the outcast. We receive a dramatic ‘wake up call’ when his inner torment turns suicidal and he shoots himself in the face with blue chalk. However, quick changes don’t allow us to dwell on any one moment in Happy As Larry, perhaps pointing to the transient nature of emotion, or the elusiveness of happiness itself. As the Observer writhes on the ground, the stage revolves, this ominous scene replaced by a giant ghetto blaster (drawn on the blackboard) setting the stage for the final ensemble piece.

Lighting designer Luis Pampolha uses simple combinations to illuminate the mood: blue, diffuse—sad; white, bright—happy; and a spotlight for intensity. Yellow highlighted the blackboard and its tape play button that triggered the grand finale. The cast ‘took it out,’ mixing sweat and chalk in one last explosion of physicality: catching each other, collapsing, loose, dependent, one by one disappearing behind the box…leaving the Observer to trace his lines on the board.

In the final scene, as the Observer reflects on his experience, a viola plays and the balloons begin to lower, dragging him down with them, until he’s cross-legged on the floor. With a click of his fingers they shoot back into the air. Such is life, Parker seems to be saying; happiness turns on a dime.


2013 Darwin Festival, Happy As Larry, presented by Shaun Parker and Company, director, choreographer Shaun Parker, composers Nick Wales, Bree Van Reyk, designer Adam Gardnir, lighting designer Luis Pampolha, dramaturgy Veronica Neave; Darwin Entertainment Centre, 22-23 August.

The NT Writers’ Centre’s RealTime Workshop project is supported by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund and the Northern Territory Government.

After 12 years in which circumstances kept her out of the arts, writer Kaye Hall is now Manager of the NT Writers Centre. She also runs Wordsmith & More, her own copywriting and editing business.

© Kaye Hall; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]

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