Getting frantic about theater

When the lines between dance and drama blur, the end result can take many forms. Indeed, the Taipei International Arts Festival this year seems to have gone out of its way to find groups that simply defy conventional categorizations. And for this we should be thankful, for there is huge potential for artistic expression outside and between the types of theater that Taiwanese have become accustomed to -- largely from lack of choice, rather than any unwillingness to experiment.

Frantic Assembly, the first of five shows to run at the Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館) over the next month is a fine example of what the arts festival will be presenting. Already established as one of the best young groups to come out of the UK in recent years, Frantic Assembly is taking its revolutionary theater to new levels. The group first came to prominence with an adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1994-5). Since then, the group hasn't looked back, in anger or otherwise, but has been pushing forward, wanting nothing less than to "revitalize theater," according to founding member Steven Hoggett.

Frantic Assembly is one of a new generation of theater groups to specifically address a young audience, "bringing [theater] back into contention as a form of entertainment," Hogget said in an interview with the Times. To do this, it has drawn on the conventions of cinema and video, using music and movement to drive the pace of the performance.

Regarded as "physical theater," Frantic Assembly moves in intricately choreographed and acrobatically demanding movements that nevertheless preserve an affinity with the body language of daily life. In Hymns, released in September 1999, which many critics regard as one of their most introspective shows to date, four suited "lads" come together to mourn the loss of a fifth friend through suicide. Their inability to express their grief is what makes the movements so expressive for the audience.

Such is the physicality of the show that sometimes the script has difficulty keeping up, but Hymns makes a concerted effort to balance movements and words, but in the end, it is the movement that becomes the more powerful language. Boppy music, athleticism and the strong-minded treatment of contemporary issues all go to make Frantic Assembly a class act highly recommended for anyone interested in where theater is going in the 21st century.

WHO Frantic Assembly

WHAT Hymns

WHEN Tomorrow, 7:30pm and Sunday, 2:30pm

WHERE Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

TICKET NT$300-NT$1500 from Era ticketing,

tel (02) 2341-9898 or url: http://www.ticket.com.tw