Review | Laura Money
The Sensemaker is an absolutely stunning piece of avant garde theatre fused with dance. It’s a unique piece that questions the very fabric of time, our sense of autonomy, ambitions, and the concept of waiting. The set comprises of a rotary telephone and a single chair. Waiting patiently is performer, Elsa Couvreur in neatly presented office attire – a bit of a blank slate – anticipation mounting in both her and the audience. Couvreur’s neutral face is lit up with hope as the phone rings – shrill and jarring through the empty space. What follows can only be described as pure genius. Moving to a choreographed piece that loops around and around, the phone message mixes and moves in a mash up of pop culture soundbytes from different media. All the while, Couvreur continually moves – matching up each segment with the familiar dance.
It’s a disarming and stunning examination of internalised motion – each piece of popular culture imbibed in an almost ritualistic routine. After this flurry of excitement there are intense silences and moments of pure confusion and frustration. Couvreur is almost in a heightened state of patience, never wavering, yet questioning notions of boredom. Every time she attempts to take control or make an autonomous move, the phone rings or a voice message puts her firmly back in her place. Couvreur’s movements border on erratic at times, joyful and with gay abandon at others. The huge sequence where she follows every ridiculous instruction is so bizarre that it’s brilliant. It’s a scathing commentary on how beaurocracy and authority control us while also demonstrating Couvreur’s mini rebellion as she takes back a tiny bit of herself in victory.
The Sensemaker is a surreal journey of autonomy and identity with commentary on authority and structure that is also just a really fun and confusing show. Don’t miss this call!
You can see The Sensemaker at the State Theatre Centre WA until 5th February 2023. TICKETS
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The Fourth Wall acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land we engage in storytelling on – the Wadjhuk people of the Noongar nation. We pay respects to their elders past, present, and emerging.
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