Music and moving bodies, flowing in a zone between the personal and the collective. Dialogue in yelps, cries, claps – even words. The bravado of rap music, the precision of a classical ensemble. Tears and defiance; wry, self-deprecating humour.

Running into the Sun is an artistic effusion, a mash-up, an exploration of possibilities, and a showcase for fresh young talent. There’s even a narrative arc of sorts, although the BATS website gives us fair warning when it tells us that Running into the Sun “is not a story, it’s a hot bath.”

More prosaically, Running into the Sun strings together a series of passages performed by different combinations of performer, in the mode of choice for each. Characters tell stories from their experiences, random or heartfelt. Actors surge and writhe wordlessly in unison or opposition, bringing to mind clouds or the sea. Actors perform to music, but sometimes the musicians join in the physical action. At times, it’s like watching a pre-show warm-up where the actors go through group exercises to get in sync and loosen up their bodies and voices.

The constant is change, between episodes or within individual passages. Sounds like a recipe for audience bafflement? But the show’s refusal to stick to a single genre or convention gives it variety and adds to its depth and capacity to surprise and challenge.  

Running into the Sun brings together performers from the Long Cloud Youth Company, a well-established Wellington training and production company for young actors, and Poneke Classical Sessions, a local performance collective with a focus on classical music. It’s a particularly happy collaboration.

The Poneke Classical Sessions ensemble is tight like a tiger, and has the advantage of a cool, eloquent score by composer Nikāu Wi Neera. Their contribution provides a highly effective contrast to the looser, more personal approach of Long Cloud. Credit to musical director Leah Thomas for bringing an impressive collection of talent together with such success.  

This is another in a series of polished and, I’m guessing, thoroughly rehearsed performances from the Long Cloud Youth Company. The company members and director Ben Ashby have done well to find a high-yielding meeting place between personal spontaneity and group discipline.  

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