Dance / Reviews
Mayfest 2024 Review: Goner, The Mount Without – ‘Bold and highly experimental’
In the true tradition of Mayfest, Goner is a bold and highly experimental piece which transcends any particular genre and intends to do something outside of the usual theatrical mainstream.
Malik Nashad Sharpe, in his stage persona of Marikscrycrycry, has created a performance focused around choreography, but one which merges elements of horror, dance, musical mesmerism, and a story hinting at a traumatic personal episode. Revolving around this background are themes of race, gender, sexuality and control.
We first meet the eponymous Goner with his back turned to the audience, apparently dancing for pleasure against strong rhythms which reverberate eerily around the performance space. The Mount Without is a perfect setting for this gothic horror story, itself showing scars resulting from the devastating fire in 2016.
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The hypnotic, repetitive music suggests a narcotic charge, and time seems to stand still. But then more discordant sounds invade the senses until a voice instructs the Goner to go into the shower. We know that something bad is going to happen there, don’t we?
Extract from Goner, Marikiscrycrycry – clip: Mayfest 2024
A plastic sheet hangs upstage, and although it is a simple artifice, the backlit lamp throws Marikscrycrycry’s shadow onto the curtain, creating a powerful effect. We watch him gyrate and groove, as though compelled to by an unseen force before he appears to experiment with suicide and self-harm. The tone suddenly changes once again and red liquid sprays against the screen. We are captivated as it drips slowly to the floor.
The piece changed direction at this point and a storyline around murder is developed, the artist again using the effect of turning his face away from the audience. This may suggest alienation but is also perhaps an attempt to hide from the truth. The story he tells is strange, fanciful and somehow at odds with what we have just witnessed.
The scene moves forward, and the Goner is now more clearly seen as someone without hope. He is bound to be controlled by others who will decide his fate.
Marikiscrycrycry in Goner – photo: Ralf Hersborg
The musical direction by Tabitha Thorlu-Bangura is superb, the various pieces flawlessly matching the moods, and the soundscape generated by Luke Blair is resonant in its power. It thuds through the chest and contributes to the ratcheting up of emotion and fear of impending violence.
Lighting by Barnaby Booth makes successful use of the church’s own physiognomy as well as Marikscrycrycry’s. Pillars rise in threatening forms like terrifying monsters while subtle strobe lighting intersects any attempt at a linear narrative.
The finale shows the Goner as a victim, used by others for their own pleasure and finally discarded. The beauty of the piece is that the audience are invited to apply their own interpretation to the scenes and transcend stereotypical descriptive theatre, and it is a fitting addition to the Mayfest canon.
Mayfest 2024 takes place in venues across Bristol from May 17-26. All tickets are Pay What You Can from as little as £5 (plus booking fees). For tickets and more information, visit www.mayk.org.uk/mayfest.
Main photo: Ralf Hersborg
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