Massive Company is the brainchild of Directors Sam Scott, and Carla Martell, plus their creative team. In 2005, 80 hopefuls, aged 15 to 25, auditioned for this devised work. 8 men were chosen and Up Close Out Loud is the result. While not looking to cast an all male team, these individuals succeeded because of their craft and skill.

A healthy multi cultural second night audience, mainly young, lapped up the show and responded with the same freshness and energy freely given by the performers. There was no doubt the 8 were speaking to their peers on their level.

Devised pieces can be tricky, in that the natural inclination can be to use everything generously given. In this case, too much made the final cut, with directionless dialogue detracting from inspiring ensemble rhythm and dance.

In terms of dance, there were flashes of brilliance and innovation throughout the evening. Highlights included the light, tongue in cheek Boy Band Tribute, "One Love", but even more so, and by complete contrast, the strength and trust exemplified in a series of foetal hugs, with the men up close and clinging to one another for support.

The reoccurring cross over, like a sprint across the sports field, used as a linking device between "scenes", was expertly performed, lit and choreographed: an impressive snapshot of the men’s combined strength and discipline. Up Close Out Loud’s choreography has captured something quite special.

However, as a dramatic piece, Up Close Out Loud didn’t speak to me or hang together as a collective whole, due to the lack of story development and depth. While I was entertained by committed performance, and enjoyed seeing young men reinforce what I know of their clan, nothing of substance gripped me. By the end, while I knew more about the cast, through monologues about their experiences, nothing new came out of their light tales. We did get generalised, slightly clichéd directives, spoken at us at random throughout the night: "act for yourself", "face the truth", "challenge yourself", "do it all with love", but they felt like statements in isolation. Speaking directly to the audience can get tiresome when over used.

In terms of the content – yes, I am aware that being a young man can mean you go out with your mates; contemplate love; buy your first car; discover porn mags; drink; get drunk; punch; dance; flirt; kiss; hook up; lose your virginity, or not, as the case may be… and yes, it’s invigorating to see these experiences presented by their generation.  But I needed more substance – not just a brief mention, or showing – of the topic, to draw me in fully, and keep me there, with growing curiosity.

On saying that, I was impressed at the confidence and honesty of the cast. There is no doubt that individually, these men know what drives them and what is important to them. Got that. At times the speeches from some borders on too earnest, too wholesome. Occasionally I felt I was at a motivational youth conference, rather than a performance.

While some monologues could be viewed as a tad self indulgent, there is no doubt these men have found something special and strong through devising Up Close Out Loud, and that is a very good thing for all concerned. These men are happy, confident, talented, developing self-awareness, full of optimism and great humour, each willing to express their particular flava to us. It’s all good. If they continue to throw themselves at life off stage, as they have thrown themselves at Up Close out Loud, they will be stunning men – leaders.

Some interesting experiences offered by the cast – such as a confrontation in the streets; or being a white boy in a cosmopolitan city feeling like a cultural no-man’s land; or affirmations, such as Auckland being home – went no where. They simply dissolved into the night, left underdeveloped.

Perhaps the piece is trying to cover too much. The down side of this is it gives the impression of lip service, as the cast merely skates lightly across the surface of many big ideas. For example, I was impressed with the contrasting statements as to how each man felt about their ethnicity. There’s a show in that issue alone.

What did work for me was seeing these men support one another physically, and show a willingness to express deeper vulnerability and feelings, through dance.

In fact, as an ensemble, these men impressed me far more than contemporary dance groups, such as Dziah, simply because uniformly, 8 nimble, athletic artists communicated not only through fluid physicality, but through their faces, employing mind and body to express themselves through dance.

I hope these men capitalise on this aspect of their group dynamic. Their ability to capture an audience with raw, dynamic physical prowess, impressive fitness, skill and natural talent, is reminiscent of Black Grace in their heyday more than a decade ago.

Lighting by Jeremy Fern delivers some exquisite snapshots: the opening tableau, with the full cast in a cluster, revealed slowly as they move forward as one, is memorable. While Fern fully unitises the back wall of the Concert Chamber, and supports the dance numbers well, towards the end, the occasional solo moment downstage was under lit, or swallowed up by the overall lighting state for the scene.

The strength of the ensemble is the backbone of Up Close Out Loud’s success. However, the following individual moments impressed me the most: the dynamic moves of Misiarona Puni, the infectious warmth of Dominic Ona-Ariki, the humour and overall craft of Tainui Tukiwaho, plus the openness of Winston Harris and Kitan Petkovski. Devised work relies on giving, generous work from all, which was exemplified especially well and at every turn, by Scott Cotter, along with Ashley Jones and Jack Haldane-Willis.

If the evening were cut to half the duration and explored fewer ideas but in a fuller, deeper way, through dance and physicality alone, this troupe would make a much louder, longer impact on their audience.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title at the top of this review. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News.  

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer