Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug (not 19, 23) @ 19:45
Pity the poor publicist charged with categorising La Poeme. Is it physical theatre, dance, performance art, burlesque, circus, comedy or a political statement? It is, to varying degrees, all of the above. It is also a surprisingly entertaining and accessible introduction to the work of Jeanne Mordoj, neatly packaged into a compact 35-minute running time.
Mordoj is a contortionist and juggler, but also an ardent feminist. Not attributes that obviously go hand in hand, but in La Poeme she has found a way to combine her passions to create a performance piece as thought-provoking as it is hilarious. It is a brief journey from the short-lived decorum of her entrance to the primal joy of the finale, and in that time Mordoj demonstrates the full spectrum of femininity. There are the contortions that alter her face and body, the eggs that can represent fertility or fragility, the various juggling acts that may entertain or sustain, the crone, the temptress, the mother or the goddess. In her native France, Mordoj has a cult following. La Poeme is deservedly receiving the level of critical acclaim that should mean she is soon able to achieve the same status in Edinburgh.
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