Guttered | Adelaide Festival 2021 review

Unconfined by borders – be they physical, mental or societal – potential is allowed to flourish in Restless Dance’s Guttered.

Guttered by Restless Dance. Picture: Shane Reid

Guttered

Dance / AUS

FESTIVAL

Kingpin Norwood

Until March 14

A bowling alley might seem a long way from the rarefied spaces so often associated with dance, but Adelaide’s acclaimed Restless Dance Theatre is no ordinary troupe.

A bowling alley combines a game of skill, of almost infinite possibilities – pitch, release, the degree of relaxation, and so much more – with the certain safety net of the gutters, ensuring the ball can never go too far.

In Guttered, the seven-strong company play free in a blissfully unrestrained, frequently joyous romp. A strike is great, but who cares if it’s a gutter, or even a foul?

Win or lose, it’s all okay. Because it’s in being unconfined by borders, be they physical or mental – or societal for that matter – that potential is allowed to flourish.

Adelaide Festival 2021 - Guttered byt Restless Dance. Picture Shane Reid

The audience can’t help but be imbued with the feel of the piece, seated right in amongst the action, some even enlisted to have a bowl themselves.

The stamp of Restless artistic director Michelle Ryan looms large, especially in the sophisticated partnering, and the subtle precision of hand and arm movements that so often complete a line, but also in many of the more playful moments.

There are many magical moments, not least an ingenious bowling ball with a life of its own. A first-rate production team includes rehearsal director Larissa McGowan, set and costume designer Meg Wilson – a great retro look – composer Jason Sweeney and lighting designer Geoff Cobham.

Guttered is both affirming and assertive, and an absolute delight.

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