Motionhouse Dance: Nobody

Dance, gymnastics, circus and technology all in one

One of the things that the Exeter Northcott often gets right is dance. And here we have a performance that will astound dance lovers and make converts of those who think it’s just not for them.

The Motionhouse production Nobody pushes the boundaries between dance, gymnastics, circus skills, parkour and  technology to give us an astonishing performance likely to leave you slack-jawed in amazement.

Dancers take full advantage of the Northcott’s wide stage and fill it with often astonishing visual images that will stay with you long after the final curtain. Incredibly fit dancers spring, clamber and in some cases seem to simply flow across a huge, metal framed box that is often centre stage, perhaps representing isolation but at times also opportunities for coming together. The box is turned, twisted and pivoted in ways that leave audience members holding their breath, wondering: How do they do that? The level of trust between the performers is something to behold and the result is likely to haunt your memories - and make you wonder at the laws of physics.

Against a crowded cityscape, individual dancers show their inner doubts, manifested as crows cawing with doubt, using movement to haunt the imagination. But as they move forward, their human forms emerge, growing in confidence as they link with others.

Most of the audience would have felt they got their money’s worth by the end of the first act. But the second part fires the senses anew, bringing ideas raised in the first half to a wonderfully optimistic resolution.

Longtime Motionhouse Choreographer Kevin Finnan created this piece along with his team of seven dancers partly during the Covid lockdown and ideas of human doubt and the importance of communication infuse this piece.

Be wary of taking younger children. This will capture their hearts and you might find they want to end up doing the modern day equivalent of running away to the circus.

Founded in 1988, Motionhouse has built a reputation for spectacle underpinned by thoughtful imagination. This piece is only going to enhance that reputation.