OBSERVER: The Dark Matter of Usulal
In a world premiere The Dark Matter of Usulal was a bold experimental work of non-linear storytelling not often seen. A risky venture which asked much of its audience, the show was arresting and exciting if, at times, also dull and heavy-handed.
The show was a contemporary interpretation of a traditional ancestral story of the Ait Koedal Clan of Saibai Island, done by the Torres Strait Islander performer Margaret J Harvey. It tells of a woman’s (WOMXN) existence, past present and future mingled together, whose life and sense of reality unravels. Themes domestic and cosmological are revealed and explored.
Created by Harvey, the work involved a rich plethora of expressive means such as sound and silence, dance and movement, spoken word, visual imagery, props and use of space.
These elements sometimes worked in harmony while at other times, deliberately, they clashed. Sometimes in the action, sometimes observing or commenting on it, the script required the solo performer to be skilled in convincingly inhabiting these different worlds.
Harvey, as the performer, did this with great poise and composure. She had a wonderful stage presence and felt equally at home in both silence and vigorous activity. She deftly switched between the many different emotions of the character WOMXN; from quiet self-reflection to burning anger to, tongue firmly in cheek, criticism of the venue’s advertising for the show.
Harvey is credited as a co-director of the show with Danielle Micich as co-director and dramaturg. Together the two did a great job of bringing to life a complicated demanding script, aided by a wonderfully creative production, design and sound team. A deeply personal story, occasionally it felt like the production suffered from Harvey directing due to her closeness to the material. Then again, that might also have worked in the show’s favour.
Fractured yet somehow cohesive, passionate yet indifferent, tranquil yet strident, The Dark Matter of Usulal perplexed and pleased in equal measure.
Venue: Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall.
Review by Peter Murphy