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BREATH[e] Designed and Directed by Steve Lucas The Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen Street West Thursday, April 25 - Saturday, May 18, 2002 ONLY! Review by Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine - May 2, 2002 Steve Lucas's fascinating 30-minute BREATH[e] takes its audience -- if they're willing, for the show won't be to everyone's taste -- to the depths. What those depths are, though, is defined by each viewer. The wordless, actorless, non-narrative piece, driven by the taped breathing of Jane Miller, can be taken as a meditation exercise with a heartbeat, a journey to the centre of awareness or any variation on this idea that you want. The movement consists of a series of smoky, differently coloured vistas opening up -- and back -- toward an ultimate point, and then the movement reverses. Steve GordonMarsh's shimmering soundscape, complete with a primal bass line, matches the sensual breathing; in fact, the entire piece can be seen as one big inhale/exhale -- and as a member of the 27-person audience, there's nothing wrong with one's focus coming and going in a similar fashion. An oceanic tidal flow quality can be felt as well, even a sense of deep-sea diving, with the different light levels taking us further into the piece. And who would have imagined that at the centre of it all -- this is my reading -- is something resembling a Turner painting of a dull, wintry sun reflected in scintillating waters? It's hard not to be drawn into this inspired sound-and-light show, and you'll be surprised how quickly it's over. You'll forget time and just drift along with the breathing -- and don't be surprised if yours starts to match the rhythm on tape. |