Working as an independent performer and with a variety of companies, such as DV8 Physical Theatre, Wendy Houstoun has been living out her artistic dreams since 1980. Over the decades she has entertained, intrigued and stimulated as a maverick who could make audiences laugh, as well as surprise them with her unpredictable insights.
Keep Dancing, her latest hour-long solo presented as part of Dance Umbrella, begins with a duologue between Houstoun and her talking computer. But since she’s wearing a headdress of red feathers, she is obviously not just a gal in the steno pool. Wordplay bounces back and forth until the computer begins to grind to a halt, clogged up with repeated phrases, even individual syllables.
One of Houstoun’s tactics for overriding this inconvenient glitch is to concoct a tricksy performance-related alphabet of events and emotions. But her hopscotch of words turns out to be almost as much of a cul-de-sac as the computer’s stammer.
About the time that I’m starting to wonder if the show’s title is simply ironic, things go into a tailspin. Houstoun gives in to the computer’s command to “d-d-d-dance, dan-dance, d-d-d-dance”, but this soon feels as if we’re stuck again, caught in a repetitive tape loop of movement as relentless as a gym workout.
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All this is backed up by a nearly surreal montage of silent-movie clips. These historical snippets range from a pair of Edwardian lady boxers in flouncy can-can skirts to some hyperactive Second World War jivers filmed from the knees down.
Pushing and stretching herself almost to breaking point, Houstoun seems to be showing us that dance is not necessarily a country reserved for the young. Whatever her game, one thing is clear: she is a survivor no matter what the odds.