Review: Mark Bruce Company: The Odyssey

Unfortunately dancer Jonathan Goddard broke his foot during the first performance: his role will be covered by other members of the company*, says the notice on the ticket desk at the entrance to Circomedia. And so the regional opening of Mark Bruce’s The Odyssey gets off to a very challenging start, being one dancer down.

And not just any dancer: Goddard’s performance would have been hotly anticipated by audiences on the back of his incandescent title role in 2013’s stellar Dracula, and the slew of dance awards and nominations his virtuosity has earned him. It’s a bit like going to see The Doors only to find that Jim Morrison is out of action. But because of the professionalism and dedication of the company (and some unimaginably hard and fast work behind the scenes), the show goes on. And that in itself is extraordinary and admirable.

What follows is not so much a linear storytelling of the Odyssey, but more a procession of loose tableaux, sparked and informed by fragments of Homer’s epic (some more recognisable than others), with Mark Bruce giving free rein to his imagination throughout. Stylistically it has more in common with 2012’s Made in Heaven, in that it’s a mash-up of bold and sometimes kitsch imagery and frenetic impressionistic solo, pas de deux and ensemble dance-bites and dramatic stance-striking, accompanied by music that veers shamelessly between no-wave thrash (Sonic Youth), soaring opera (Bocelli’s Ave Maria), the leathery booze-soaked growlings of Tom Waits and Mark Lanegan, and the swelling magnificence of Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt and Mozart.

The set is similarly over the top, featuring a huge ring of metal scaffolding with a swirling misty backdrop centre stage, like a giant crystal ball or snow dome that’s about to reveal dream or nightmare images of the past and future after being given a good shake. This morphs convincingly into Odysseus’ ship, though not without some clunking.

There’s also a big metal disc where one dancer is bound and spun for a knife-throwing sequence, some dancing Santas, a world-weary hero who smokes king-sized filter tips without ever lighting them, some amusingly dodgy wigs and moustaches (Poundland?), and more swords, leather accessories and faux tatts than Game of Thrones.

Mark Bruce certainly revels in getting his dancers to teeter on the brink of the ‘good taste zone’ where most contemporary dance dwells, and in doing so actively courts the excesses of the modern opera and rock-spectacular genres.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but neither is it the dance version of Marmite: it’s impossible to hate because its production values are too high and its scope too seductive. But artistic provocation at this level can become decadent, and risk-taking can rub shoulders with piss-taking. It’s hard to say if having Jonathan Goddard’s godly dance in the mix would have mitigated The Odyssey’s more indulgent elements, but it would have guaranteed some outstanding dancing – and that’s one thing you can never have too much of in a dance show.

The Odyssey continues at Circomedia until Sat, Feb 14 as part of Tobacco Factory Theatres’ BEYOND season. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/the-odyssey

* Jonathan Goddard’s role will be taken over by a replacement dancer as soon as possible.