Review: LANDSCAPE - ELENA ANTONIOU, Shoreditch Town Hall

Normally all we see are signs confirming no photography or filming at the theatre, but Elena Antoniou wants you to do the exact opposite during her work LANDSCAPE. The piece was part of the Dance Umbrella festival and was performed for two nights in the Assembly Hall at Shoreditch Town Hall. 

The doors opened at 7pm and we entered to find Antoniou on a raised platform in the centre of the vast, historic place. The event was standing, and the audience was invited to move around during the performance - which they did.

Antoniou is dressed in black lycra and high-heeled boots. At first she's rotating slowly with gentle undulations moving through her body. At a certain point she stops and starts to strike poses. Not many, and holds them for elongated periods. It brought to mind statues, and how one observes them on a plinth in a museum. But Antoniou is flesh and blood, and a mind full of ideas and intention.

In order to discuss Antoniou's movement in the piece, one needs to consider the work's political/philosophical underpinning. Antoniou is looking at objectification - self and external - and I, as a homosexual, male member of the audience believe that context is what defines the success of the piece and any associated thinking.

My reality means I'm vilified by some for just being who I am: Antoniou's reality will determine she's objectified by many for simply just being a woman. Her very existence allows others to feel they have the right to observe, consume and deliberate her. Of course, the context of the performance suggests she's encouraging this, but not exactly how people go about it - and this is the space where the brilliance occurs.

Many people who frequent the theatre on a regular basis love feeling part of the performance, so of course the punters moved around the space capturing Antoniou in provocative poses from risque angles. Harmless? Contextually, probably. Some 40 minutes into the one hour piece a male member of the audience approached the platform, placed his mobile on the edge and proceeded to film Antoniou in this close proximity for a good ten minutes. It made me feel very uncomfortable, like he felt he had the right to do whatever he wanted regardless of the impact on her - talk about objectification in action.

Antoniou's performance is important. One feels in the presence of a serious thinker with the practical goods to back it up. The material could be found in different situations; yoga, physical therapy, strip clubs, dance floors. What gets the mind whirring is the shifting of perspectives in relation to possible contexts. Why do we read this material as sexual? Provocative? Is it all down to sex and gazes?

Antoniou also offers an emotional rollercoaster throughout the work. At times empowered, irreverent, angry, fragile, traumatised and broken. But never in an obvious way, it's all radiated from deep within, and the performance continues regardless. No matter how she feels or she's being perceived. The piece doesn't have a set finish; the house lights come on and Antoniou is stood centrally, stamping her left foot every so often. The stamp felt like a form of stop for me. Stop consuming, perceiving, assuming, dismissing. 

The fact Antoniou was there when we arrived, and stayed as we left conjured up the jewellery box metaphor. You open the box and the ballerina/woman is there, you close it and she's still imprisoned. Exclusively at the disposal of the owner. A riveting, deep, dark watch. At whose expense?

LANDSCAPE was performed at Shoreditch Town Hall on 24-25 October

Photo Credit: Andreas Simopoulos for Onassis Stegi