AFTER
Project Upstairs ★ ★ ★ ★ Don't worry, they say, it's not the end of the world. But what if it is? In these times of heightened anxiety, could someone please send us an Instagram guide to how to see, feel and behave before the apocalypse? After obliges, energetically, with knowing style and striking visuals.
The performer, director and choreographer Liv O'Donoghue, the video- and film-maker José Miguel Jiménez, the actor Clara Simpson, the dancer Kip Johnson and their fine sound and lighting collaborators invite us to the rough cut of their elaborate mock and real-time documentary.
A couple, in a suitably isolated Nordic cabin, await oblivion. The tone is dark but shot with humour. After all, extinction is nothing new. Their filmed emotional roller coaster – blind terror as bravado, denial as frenetic dancing – is constantly interrupted by the onstage performers’ echoing and challenging of their onscreen meltdowns. With touching optimism, they are still editing their memories when no one will be around to remember.
Runs until Saturday, September 15th
