A dramatic and thought-provoking performance highlighting the miracles and injustices of reproduction through dance
Futuristic Folktales was an exploration of human reproduction through the idea of the ‘first womb’ and discussed themes pertaining to identity, life and death and reproductive rights. Choreographed and produced by Charlotte McLean, it was performed on-stage at the
Tramway Theatre by two highly skilled dancers, Orrow Bell and Astro Scheidegger. The title Futuristic Folktales is a strong juxtaposition and encapsulates the endless struggle of tradition and modernity coexisting together. Futuristic Folktales successfully amalgamates multiple artforms ranging from traditional Scottish dance and music to breakdance, free form, and improvisation.
I was initially sceptical as the production featured just two dancers for the entirety of the show. Walking into the theatre, I was instantly greeted with the sounds of birds chirping and a projection on the back wall of the stage. This could have been perceived as beads or a flower, but upon closer inspection, it was a projection of ovum, immediately setting the tone.
The production began with both dancers in a foetal position on the floor in pitch black, slowly moving to the initially sparse musical accompaniment before emerging out of each other’s ‘wombs’ onto a fully lit stage. The composer Malin Lewis reflected the environment of the womb with bagpipes playing short, fragmented notes. The bagpipes only formed the iconic bagpipe drone sound once the dancers had fully emerged from the ‘womb’. After the graphic ‘birth’ scene, the dancers broke the fourth wall and addressed the audience directly by telling the story of the ‘first womb’, initially describing it positively with words such as strong, powerful, and opportunity. Their movements were fluid and graceful, until they described the womb through a more political lens. Here the dancers described the womb as hostile, racist and penetrated by other forces including men’s genitalia and the opinions of others. These words were reflected with much more angular, jagged movements, creating sharp contrast.
The remainder of the show was split into two main sections: the first, featured a more positive view on the miracle of childbirth, whereby reproduction was compared to the life cycle of a tree. Here the music featured bagpipes with a drone, sparse melodic line and string accompaniment and the dancing remained centred around Highland-style dancing and fluid movements. In the second section, the stage was much darker to mimic the more unpredictable and violent side of reproduction. Lewis cleverly orchestrated the music by maintaining traditional Scottish folk instrumentation with a more contemporary, minimalistic approach. The dancing mirrored the music, using angular and explosive movements. Eventually, the music disappeared completely, leaving the audience watching the dancers scream in pain and contort their bodies unnaturally during an endless cycle of traumatic births, until both dancers returned to a similar position to their starting point.
I walked away from Futuristic Folktales having thoroughly enjoyed the performance and was left inspired by the thought-provoking questions surrounding reproduction. Both dancers excellently communicated their messages through various dance forms and played to their strengths – Orrow Bell performed the Scottish folk dances beautifully whilst their colleague Astro Scheidegger executed break dance with passion and effortless fluidity. I felt there was a missed opportunity to explore reproductive rights verbally: whilst the dancing was highly communicative, the lack of dialogue in the second half left the audience’s imagination to interpret the injustice of reproduction on their own. This production is well suited to younger audiences with an open mind, however older audience members may find this production inaccessible due to the fragmented nature of the music, dancing, and lack of traditional storyline.