Sutra

This collaboration between Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Syzmon Brzoska, Anthony Gormley and monks from the Shaolin Temple had all the elements for a spectacular evening, and spectacular it was. Gormley’s sensational visual and spacial awareness married with clever use of the martial arts skills of the monks certainly had verve. And there is little denying the extraordinary physical talents of the monks and the european dancer as they flew around the stage and shifted Gormley’s temple block/coffins/skyscrapers into various configurations. The young boy monk too added another softer element to the work. All this said I found myself disturbed by the violence of the warrior monks’ movements and unmoved by the theme of Westerners’ imposition on Eastern culture and tradition. I wanted to love it, I certainly was filled with admiration but at the end I left disappointed.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 10 May 2013

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