PaperDolls, 'Bunk': Bed, Wrath and Beyond

Project Arts Centre, Dublin Fringe Festival
Sept 8-14

A quick review of Bunk after the jump ...

It's a bit of a cliché: "It put me to sleep", usually accompanied by a yawn and a "humpf". Circus aerialists PaperDolls put a new turn on the phrase when they literally do put an audience member to bed. Unfortunately, it doesn't excite what is a waning production.

A monstrous four-poster bed domineers the space, with posts made of hard steel and loose wiring exposed in the mattress. This is more of a nightmare than a dream, as acrobats do turns from ropes with a distorted sound design muffling the sounds of the outside world. The use of lighting is perhaps the most inspiring device, slamming a mid-air woman's silhouette against the wall.

But unclear movements blur meanings, making this a very unfocused piece. One doesn't get a sense of the individual performers or of their relationship to each other. There's a sense of danger but the crawling pace undercuts it. As a result, it's hard to find something at stake or to care if they will ever wake up.


What did everybody else think?