INSOLENT RIVER: A TANGO
First created in 1985, Michael Parmenter’s Insolent River: A Tango is a seminal work in New Zealand dance/theatre. Now, more than three decades after its creation, this disturbing but ultimately affirmative work has undertaken a 21st century revival and long-overdue debut to the Auckland stage.
Spanning the reach between cosmic drama and mundane trivia, between tragic fatality and ironic comedy Insolent River: A Tango is an intensely moving dance epic tracing the lineaments of desire in both its elemental and personal manifestations.
Parmenter has re-invented the work for two superlative casts of dancers who contribute improvisationally to this contemporary realisation. Their alternating performances affirm the Herakleitean adage that “one can never step twice into the same river”.
Created by MICHAEL PARMENTER
Designed by JOHN VERRYT, SEAN CURHAM & DAVID DOWNES
Performed by JOSIE ARCHER & ALOALII TAPU and EMILY ADAMS & KOSTA BOGOIEVSKI
“The work is bold and subtle, funny and sad, shocking and important.”
“There are moments of humour and the ending is hopeful. But it is ultimately a devastating work.”
Photos by Caroline Bindon