To heaven and back

Apocrifu by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Queen Elizabeth Hall, 25^th Jan 2014

 

Larbi’s latest show stopping masterpiece is an intense experience for the viewer that combines the intricate solemn tones of a Corsican male choir, the unique and varying physicalities of himself and his two collaborating performers and a wealth of original choreographic techniques to visualise and interpret the effect of religious and secular scripture on the life of its readers. Stunning snake-like floor work from acrobat Dimitri Jourde, which left me wondering if he actually had any bones in his body, complements the signature stomach-turning flexibility of Larbi himself whilst the balletic solos from Yasuyuki Shuto feel a little out of place.

The stage and its inhabitants are surrounded by books that represent the texts referred to in the title of the piece. Larbi throws down book after book from the pile he cradles to form stepping stones to carry him across the stage in order to offer a text to his fellow performers. The performers throw the books at each other, bash them against their own heads and pass them between their hands in a dizzyingly complicated sequence visually reminiscent of a multi-limbed Hindu goddess. All of these moments in which the books subjugate the body suggest that scriptures and the supress their readers. At one point Larbi tries to explain to the audience some of the discrepancies within such scriptures as the Bible and the Qur’an.

The architecture of the stage space is dominated by a large wooden stairway on the left hand-side, framing the space whilst creating religious connotations to the action that occurs on it. The performance is first established by the image of a performer gradually descending the staircase with a limp upper body, whilst serenaded by the vocalists, representing the foundation of much scripture – a messiah being sent down from Heaven to Earth. Similarly, in the final moments of the piece two performers ascend the staircase quietly and exit into Heaven before Larbi follows to the top of the staircase and then abandons his fellow believers and jumps off, rejecting the idea of life after death.

Despite the visually comedic scenes of a puppet beating up its puppeteers and the incessant passing of books and swords between flailing arms the visual highlight of the piece for me was a rolling duet in which Larbi and Jourde become attached at the neck, their heads always facing the audience, who are never quite sure which belongs to which body, as they wrap themselves around, support and rely on each other. Of course, even without such images, the performance would be a pleasure to encounter thanks to the seven harmonising voices of the choir, whose verbal chants and accompanying humming echo around the hall with unparalleled gravitas.