To Holly and Jonathan falling out of love, which seems to be happening, or losing your job, which could, are about the worst things that could happen. But Marta, the Argentinian sociobiologist they’ve hired to teach them tango dancing, knows that far, far worse things can happen to people.

Stuart Hoar’s play is intimate and focused. Holly thinks that a twenty-year-old marriage drained of passion can be revived by dancing lessons. Jonathan thinks this idea is rubbish. Gradually their interaction with the cool, mysterious Marta brings changes to their lives, but not quite in the way that Holly was hoping for.

Over the years WOW Productions have performed in many unusual and unexpected locations, and Richard Huber’s production is appearing in a different place on each of its ten nights. At St Martin’s Hall the actors made good use of a long, narrow space with the audience on both sides and very close to the performance area, giving everyone a good view of the characters’ emotional struggles and also of the intricacies of tango.

Holly is a teacher, and Clare Adams brings out her warm, romantic nature. Patrick Davies’ Jonathan is a more complex character: putting his very considerable intelligence into being what he calls a "media conceptualist" has made him analytical and cynical, and it’s easy to understand why the couple don’t always get along.

Anna Henare is cool and mysterious as Marta, and dancers Andreas Penckwitt and Karyn Taylor show us something of tango’s intensity and technical complexity. 
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Local community halls have long been used for celebrations, dances and socialising. Gone are the days when the community hall, church or otherwise, was the centre of community activity, the suburban Mecca for mothers and children, grandfathers and grandmothers. Last night however, the St Martin’s Church Hall, in North East Valley, became a hub of excitement as audience members both young and old rallied to the opening performance of WOW! Production’s Backwards in High Heels.

By acclaimed New Zealand playwright Stuart Hoar, Backwards in High Heels follows Holly (Clare Adams) and Jonathon (Patrick Davies) as they attempt to re-kindle the romance in their relationship through the world of the tango. Unfortunately for both Holly and Jonathon, an Argentinean ‘bio-nazi’ (socio-biologist) named Marta (Anna Henare) incidentally intercepts their chances of happiness in her attempts to initiate them into the intensity, vulnerability and passion of the world of the tango.

The action of the characters is also intercut with sections of tango, danced by professional dancers, designed to initiate the audience into the world of the tango.

Staging Backwards in High Heels in community halls across wider Dunedin [see below] means that the actors and dancers can slip into a space, rich with history and character, and utilise this to their own advantage. People feel comfortable in community halls and when I walked in last evening everybody was talking, chatting and laughing and the atmosphere was relaxed and calm.

The two tango dancers, Karyn Taylor and Andréas Penckwitt, dance in the space and the actors mingle and talk; everybody is relaxed. This is a professional production with all the quirks and fun of an amateur community production without the fear of imminent disaster.

In the programme Henare explains to the audience that when you are dancing the tango you are “dancing as one heart with four legs.” The tango, to me, means heart and passion. I wish that the heart and passion of the tango had cut through the camaraderie that seeped through the hall as shared past experiences fused to create a genuine community spirit in a building that was once the heart of the community. Unfortunately it didn’t.

Had the energy been more impenetrable between the tango dancers, the world of the tango would have been much more alluring, existing in a world all of its own. This would have allowed the audience to fully engage with the world of the text, comprehending Holly and Jonathan’s desire to learn to love each other again through the love of the tango.

I believe Huber and his actors created the environment they desired and I respect Huber’s no-frills approach to theatre making but I feel like this script demands frills. The worlds within the play need to be striking but here, they are not. The actors do the best that they could but I feel that the script lets them down, more so as the piece progresses. What starts as a clever and articulate piece slowly slumps into a lull of scientific jargon as the characters swap opinions and ideas at a rate quicker than I could keep up with.  

The actors were great though. Their dedication and sincerity in their dancing is exciting to watch, you can see the glint of friendship in their eyes as the actors, not the characters, wrap themselves in each other’s arms and really work together, one heart dancing with four legs.

Henare speaks with an unfaltering and convincing Argentinean accent and embodies her role flawlessly, exuding the strong direct manner I find dance teachers often posses.

As Holly, Adams is a delight, she looks stunning in her costume and she seems at ease in the heels, at ease in Holly’s world.

Davies never disappoints. His ability to control, contract and contort his face is uncanny and he never fails to evoke laughter right at the perfect moment.

The actors work incredibly well together and their camaraderie on stage helps to support the environment that Huber had worked to create.

I do commend this production; I commend the way the actors, dancers and director have come together to create a genuine community event. In a time where individualism is rife it is a joy to walk down the hill to an old church hall and join in the fun and excitement of the theatre with neighbours and friends. I really believe that the cast and crew should be proud of what they have created and people should take the opportunity to see this production should it come to their community.
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Further performances:
Waitati Community Hall, Thur 14 Oct, 8pm
St Mary’s Hall Mosgiel, Fri 15 Oct, 8pm
Burns Hall, First Church, Sat 16 Oct, 8pm
Pioneer Hall, Port Chalmers, Sun 17 Oct, 8pm
Season continues at various halls until Sat 23 October.
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