Amleth – No-lander mark.

This show is a part of a project aimed at preserving an ancient form of Persian storytelling called Naghali. It explores stories through specific codified gestures and movement which culminate in a very stylised corporeal expression. The performance has an elegance and beauty that is seen in both the action and the overall design. There is a magnificence in the cohesion of the set and the intriguing atmosphere this creates.

The costume and set design employ delicate and expressive figurative drawings, and the dominance of white sheets used as backdrops or draped white fabric as part of the costuming is extremely striking. This is also echoed in the installation where a vocabulary of Naghali is reconstructed and recorded. 

The set design is unusual and somewhat abstract, as is the language of the performance, leaving a reliance on the tone and atmosphere in order to experience the emotions of the performer. Sheshgelani is elegant and captivating and the movement is beautifully supported by music and sound by Piotr Nowotnik. The delicate, refined sounds have an extremely charming quality and effectively accentuate the stylised movement.

While there are clear references to Shakespeare and powerful emotions such as betrayal and revenge there is little or no contextualisation which can leave the audience at a bit of a loss. The ways in which the audience should connect with or, perhaps, surrender to this form of storytelling could form part of the pedagogical agenda of preserving this extraordinarily exquisite art form.

Patricia Di Risio 

Photographer: Darren Gill