Humdansoundart – Susanna Hood’s Shudder

Reviewed by Paula Citron

Choreographer Susanna Hood’s Shudder is subtitled “Susanna Hood dreams the canvases of Francis Bacon to life”. It is a brave show, raw and exposed, and stripped to the flesh.

Bacon’s ghoulish paintings come replete with images of bleeding carcasses, horribly misshapen faces and grotesque bodies. Hood transforms these images into the on-going trauma within a severely dysfunctional family – mother (Hood), father (Dan Wild) and young daughter (Alanna Kraaijeveld). This family dynamic is fraught with tension. The movement is organic, drawn out of realism and stylized for grand effect.

Hood believes strongly in the fusion of sound and movement. Her long-time composer/sound designer Nilan Perera has provided her with the suitably eerie electronica score this gothic tale requires, but he has also composed singing parts, as it were. The three wail, screech, shout and babble in a primal scream of inner turmoil.

Shudder is not for the faint of heart.

Shudder continues at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre until May 9.

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Shudder
Humdansoundart
Choreographed by Susanna Hood (with the ensemble)
Directed by Ruth Madoc-Jones
Performed by Hood, Dan Wild and Alanna Kraaijeveld
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Apr. 29 to May 9, 2010
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