A celebration of phenomena deemed ‘unnatural’ by society, beautiful to those who are willing to look closer
Suitable for ages 11+.
Before I watched Natural Behaviour, I had read nothing about it and assumed it would be a comedy of sorts. A satire about misfits attempting to find their place in this strange, pretentious world. And I was not wrong – the show, comprised of dancing, lip-syncing, and humorous costumes, depicted the ways in which several communities fight to assert their existence. What I was not expecting, however, was just how brilliant the interpretations of nature, humanity, and social issues would be.
Natural Behaviour, created by the dance theatre company Thick & Tight (Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry) and featuring a multitude of performers, is an astute exploration of what is ‘natural’ and ‘unnatural’. Our initial notions of marginalisation is expanded by Thick & Tight’s representation of all manner of species, human, animal, or otherwise – including the dust in Quentin Crisp’s room, and a lesbian seagull! In this show, there are no proverbial flies on the wall. Nothing is stepped over or forgotten altogether. All species are given a spotlight, the chance to have their true, natural behaviours showcased by the brilliant performers on stage.
In our preoccupation with the comings and goings of human life, we often forget that the sentiment shared among queer people, “None of us are free until all of us are”, extend to non-humans, too. Thick & Tight clearly view this sentiment as near and dear to them, ensuring the audience is made aware of the things we tend to overlook. Yes, we have reached the consensus that homosexuality is worthy of acceptance and respect, but are we aware that it is not merely a human phenomenon? And gosh, cockroaches are scary and icky, but did you know that their little bodies hold an immense amount of stamina? Nature has always been fascinating, and often unfathomable to humans, but Thick & Tight show us that it is nevertheless deserving of our attention.
Natural Behaviour is inclusive outside of the play as it is within. The performances are relaxed, with pauses between each vignette for audiences to leave the room if they wish. Audience members are allowed to stim and make noise, and there is a quiet room. All performances were captioned for those hard of hearing, and there were descriptions of each performance and performer for the visually impaired. It is always important for each audience member to feel included, each person sharing in the feeling of being seen and being free.
The criticism I have of this show is not so much a negative judgement as it is… an inquiry, of sorts? There are scenes, immensely funny scenes, featuring Donald Trump in the form of an orange horse, and an audio recording of Katy Perry’s interview after she entered space for a whopping 400 seconds. Admittedly, I found it difficult to recognise how these fit with the theme of ‘natural behaviour’, especially among the stories of a gay black man in the US and a male ballet dancer embracing the full extent of his femininity. However, the scenes themselves were very enjoyable to watch, eliciting a lot of laughs from everyone in the audience, including myself. Natural Behaviour is a funny, outrageous, and beautiful show, hopefully one that will go very far.
Kudos to all involved!