Devised from an eclectic range of hit pop songs from across the decades, I was pleasantly surprised with how well a narrative the collaborative team of Fingerprints & Teeth Productions and Dynamotion were able to create for the dance/theatre show Terror Island. Starring Lara Fischel-Chisholm as Lara, Jennie Robertson as Jennie, and Tom Sainsbury as Tom (Sainsbury), this trio of both devisers and performers have generated a plot that resembles the basic 90s teen-horror and has enough of a journey to sustain 50 minutes of fun. 

Supporting our core cast are the hilariously goofy Kate Simmonds, the Blue Steel-faced Roberto Nascimento, and the peripheral gauging one-step-behind Dan Veint. The six come together and, even without their colour-coded uniforms, manage to create discernable characters, although I was confused once or twice as to whether the supporting cast were performing as back-up dancers or one of their own varied characters in certain sequences. Narrator Paul Harrop is aptly used and consequently relinquishes the actors of any dialogue whatsoever.

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Terror Island is a theatrical dance performance, created by three friends who love dance. The emphasis is on fun and expression. Most of the audience seems to know the dancers and there is an atmosphere of laughter and familiarity.

The music is well chosen, the plot is written around the songs. There are many pop culture references and parodies, and the result is fun. There is narration between songs, which is sometimes unnecessary and tends to break the flow, and the music gets loud at times, but the story is easy to follow. Some props and costumes are used to help the narrative along, and even the few used aren’t always needed.

The choreography is simple, bold and energetic, once again created by the dancers. Generally the dancing is amusing and effective, but from time to time it does wander somewhat and could become slightly tedious in places. Everyone goes with the theatrical, satirical style of the piece and their movements and facial expressions reflect this – big, bright and slightly overdone.

Lara Fischel-Chisholm is clearly a trained dancer, and her performance is good; very expressive and theatrical. The others all throw themselves into the show, and if sometimes the timing is off, it doesn’t seem to matter. The audience is loudly appreciative (to the point of being distracting in places) and both the dancers and those watching really look like they are enjoying themselves.

The absolute highlight is at the end, when the dancers come back for an encore – the choreography is a delightful surprise. All the performers clearly love this routine and it is definitely the best piece of dancing in the show.

Overall, Terror Island is fun and entertaining. You can just sit back, relax and enjoy it with the performers. It’s a small, intimate and quirky performance, and you feel like you’re part of the dancers’ lives just by being there.

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