Choreographer and Director: Ivan Michael Blackstock
When spoken word poet Magero begins to collapse into the arms of his fellow dancers, physically buckling under the strain of his performative masculinity as the demands to be tough, invincible and constantly armoured take their toll, it becomes one of the most heartfelt and deeply moving moments of a show that is staggeringly full of surprises. Choreographed and directed by Ivan Michael Blackstock, TRAPLORD is an extraordinary ensemble piece about black masculinity, power and mortality that becomes an overwhelming and ferocious plea for support and understanding.
Running around 75-minutes, Blackstock’s show is a deep exploration of what it means to be a man in contemporary urban societies and the need to strive for an unreachable concept of perfect humanity. Staged initially as a warped Alice in Wonderland pursuit of the intangible filled with black rabbit and looking glass imagery, it creates an existential doom that hangs over TRAPLORD and from which it draws its force.
Simisola Majekodunmi’s lighting design is essential to this, contrasting very dark, low-lit spaces with intense illumination to bring shades of meaning to this dance performance that expands on notions of life and death, heaven and hell, good and evil. Performers emerge from the shadows to flash torches at the audience, others point handheld beams of light at one another to create different visual impressions as Majekodunmi plays with the visual effect of Blackstock’s choreographic choices.
And while these references and design decisions give context to the show, Blackstock grounds TRAPLORD in the violent interactions of young men swept away on video games, status symbols and, at one point, drugs, unable to break away from the gang mentality that drives them to some of the most extraordinary dance-fighting you will see on stage.
Filled with the popping of handgun and rifle gestures, Blackstock creates a series of extraordinary sequences in which performers generate street dance styles in combinations of rapid, chaotic movement with slow, robotic shimmers of trauma that sweep through the pack mentality. These are often intensely violent, even frenzied, particularly when the black rabbit character is surrounded and assaulted in slow-motion strobing or when the domineering ringleader in a terrifying pig’s head mask glories in his misrule. But there is real emotion, fear and confusion sitting beneath that adds explanatory depth and meaning to the dangerous and charged scenarios that Blackstock creates.
Staged at 180 Studios, TRAPLORD is perfectly suited to this crescent shaped space filled with concrete pillars and an unfinished, stripped back aesthetic. Somehow it just wouldn’t have fitted quite so beautifully in the refined auditorium of co-partner Sadler’s Wells. Because this is a truly a city story, the atmosphere is only enhanced by the staging and musical choices that include Ian William Galloway’s video game design and a rap and grime soundtrack provided by Boy Blue’s Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, along with BRNSRGHT, CREATXR, DOMINANT, Denzel Himself, Mindaugas Juozapavicius and Torben Sylvest.
There are a couple of sequences that fall flat including one direct conversation with the audience and a piece about heaven that feels less polished and could be excluded from future iterations, but TRAPLORD is an extraordinarily intense, consuming and meaningful experience. And while dance can sometimes feel stylised to the point of incomprehension, this work from Blackstock and a talented team of creative artists is so truly authentic, so incredibly felt, so pointed in its pain and power that you will think about nothing else for days.
Runs until 16 April 2022
