IN PIECES // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "BODY CONCERT"
I first saw Kevin Augustine's latest puppetry movement show BODY CONCERT this past January. Or at least a version of it. Augustine, along with La Mama Moves Dance Festival, presented a "work in progress" version of his meditation on life and death through some gruesome looking puppetry. In that version, we also got to see some "behind the scenes" work, as Augustine worked through a "trial and error" mode, figuring out what did and didn't work. As I stated in that review, "it's a meticulously crafted piece" and I was excited to see where it would go in the future. And finally I, along with a fully masked and vaccinated audience, was able to see it live.
The puppets Augustine uses are body parts, parts the feel like that have come alive and were ripped out of a "Bodies Exhibition." Augustine, wearing almost nothing, disappears behind his puppet creations, moving them along as they "come to life" in front of us. There's a single leg, a single arm, a skull, a giant eye. It's a soft, meditative show that lets the audience slowly fall under the spell of Augustine and his tribe of puppets. There's a lot of beautiful moments throughout the piece and the show itself challenges the audience to slow down and pay attention to the simplicity of it.
Augustine is tremendous here. His body stretches and shines, crafting a sort of beautiful horror show that slowly removes the horror and replaces it with simplicity and beauty. It's most definitely a show to be "seen," as the magic seemed to stay inside the theatre as I walked away from it. From the wonderful lighting design to the lovely score and one gorgeous final image to end on, BODY CONCERT shines brightly due to Kevin Augustine's vivid imagination that he's daring to share with all of us. There are deeper meanings that I found within the show, but quite honestly, a bit of patience and a yearing for some downtown theatre magic is all you need to walk away from this theatrical experience quite satisfied.
GRADE: B+
CREATED AND PERFORMED BY Kevin Augustine PRESENTED BY La Mama and Lone Wolf Tribe FOR MORE INFO: BODY CONCERT