September 18, 2011
This was the UK Premiere of Happy as Larry, a contemporary and thoughtful dance show by award-winning Australian director Shaun Parker. Using the medium of dance, Parker explores the nature of human happiness in accordance with the Enneagram - a psychological system that maps nine personality types, including Optimist, Tragic Romantic, Devil’s Advocate, Mediator, Perfectionist and Observer.
A simple but effective stage set up featuring a chalkboard-wall, balloons, rollerskates and a basketball, the 9 characters interweave seamlessly and beautifully using different dance styles to demonstrate the various personality types in search of happiness and how their needs interlink and complement each other.
The show began with an effective and amusing demonstration of some awesome ventriloquist skills, and took us on an exciting but infuriating journey of scenes as the audience desperately tried to work out which personality style was which. This was so difficult, I found it detracted from my enjoyment of the performances as I was so keen to pigeonhole each performer in one of the personality styles. Half-way through the play I realised to have appreciation of the performances, I had to stop trying to analyse every scene and found that after this, I could relax and enjoy the dances and interaction more. At the end of the show I realised everyone else in the audience had felt the same.
There was a very informative post-show talk at which Parker explained that none of us do fit perfectly into any category, which made me feel less confused about not having been able to identify the personalities correctly. I think the confusion was deliberate and meant to cause the audience to think more about the interacting performers, however, for me, I would have preferred to have the post-show talk information in advance so I could just enjoy the show for what it was – a beautiful exploration of human nature and our interweaving stories, told through a variety of dance mediums.
This is an ambitious and exciting dance show and the performers were excellent, and I wish them all the best on their UK circuit. My advice would be to go to see this show as a performance, but try to enjoy it without over-analysing it – either that, or make sure you get the lowdown on which personality type is which before the show, otherwise you will feel confused and rather stupid, and no matter how you try to figure the types out, you will probably get it very wrong anyway – I certainly did!
A simple but effective stage set up featuring a chalkboard-wall, balloons, rollerskates and a basketball, the 9 characters interweave seamlessly and beautifully using different dance styles to demonstrate the various personality types in search of happiness and how their needs interlink and complement each other.
The show began with an effective and amusing demonstration of some awesome ventriloquist skills, and took us on an exciting but infuriating journey of scenes as the audience desperately tried to work out which personality style was which. This was so difficult, I found it detracted from my enjoyment of the performances as I was so keen to pigeonhole each performer in one of the personality styles. Half-way through the play I realised to have appreciation of the performances, I had to stop trying to analyse every scene and found that after this, I could relax and enjoy the dances and interaction more. At the end of the show I realised everyone else in the audience had felt the same.
There was a very informative post-show talk at which Parker explained that none of us do fit perfectly into any category, which made me feel less confused about not having been able to identify the personalities correctly. I think the confusion was deliberate and meant to cause the audience to think more about the interacting performers, however, for me, I would have preferred to have the post-show talk information in advance so I could just enjoy the show for what it was – a beautiful exploration of human nature and our interweaving stories, told through a variety of dance mediums.
This is an ambitious and exciting dance show and the performers were excellent, and I wish them all the best on their UK circuit. My advice would be to go to see this show as a performance, but try to enjoy it without over-analysing it – either that, or make sure you get the lowdown on which personality type is which before the show, otherwise you will feel confused and rather stupid, and no matter how you try to figure the types out, you will probably get it very wrong anyway – I certainly did!