A New Perspective on DONUTS

Earlier last week, I decided to have a look online and see what my local theatres were showing, hoping for something new and fresh. A one off performance of Donuts at The Dukes theatre caught my attention, as did a blurb featuring words such as, jazz, funk, 90s, contemporary dance…I grabbed a ticket and looked forward to an hour of being transported away from the presently mundane, filled with political and economic chaos.

I was transported, and thoroughly enjoyed the performance, but what I found most interesting, perhaps even perculiar, was my thoughts as I consumed the performance. I’ve always enjoyed the theatre, particularly performance with music or contemporary dance, but I had never really considered the parallels with my art practice until now.

To begin with, I found myself slightly confused at the lack of dialogue. For some reason, I had expected it but it became apparent rather quickly, that the dance and choreography used in the performance, was representative of the dialogue. This, I found most interesting.

PhotoBy_GenevieveReeves

I became fascinated by the interaction between the three performers, noticing the eye contact and relationship between one another. At times, I was even surprised at my ability to follow the story, through dance, as opposed to dialogue - almost like reading an abstract painting, and that is where my thoughts started to wander and sparks began to fly.

I considered my own recent body of work, little boxes and how I came to take my initial representational pieces and reduce them to abstract versions. One of the questions that has lingered, is whether they are universally understood, but does it matter if they are not?

In the case of Donuts, I asked myself the same question; do the audience interpret the performance in the same way that I am? If not, how? and does it matter? Also, is this what the producer was trying to achieve?

I understand that my interests in jazz, funk, all things 90s and contemporary dance, most probably aided my engagement and overall ability to interpret the dance as a form of dialogue; eventually being able to follow a story of friendship, loss and the reuniting of friends, as well as the emotion throughout the play.

How, therefore, can a painting or two-dimensional work of art have the same impact, if at all? Can the ‘dialogue’ of a painting be universally interpreted? or is the ability of the viewer to relate to the story or have a deeper connection, a prerequisite for this to occur?

It is certainly an experience that will continue to raise questions, and I am incredibly privileged to have had the opportunity to witness such a wonderful, thought provoking performance.