A triumph of style over substance, the bright and flashy Omega from blackSKYwhite offers an awful lot of bark with little in the way of bite. Described as ‘a hoochie coochie carnival for the end of time’ - whatever this phrase may mean, it is certainly not apparent by the end of the show - the overall effect could be summed up by performers in elaborate costumes flapping about in jitters. We are presented with a sideshow of freaks, each with their own special talent. I say talent, I mean flapping about in jitters. A two-headed singer, smoking clowns, a face-stabbing conductor: all expert flappers.
Once the novelty wears off, flapping is all that remains. All aspects of the design are stunning: lighting, sound, set - a real feast for the senses. It does nothing, however, to draw you in; in theory terrifying and exhilarating, in execution bemusing and bland. A ringmaster proffers backstories in between each act but deafening speaker volume coupled with multiple layers of distortion and echo made it all but impossible to understand nine out of every ten words. Consequently there was no way to engage on any level deeper than aesthetic appreciation - interwoven with mild confusion - and any emotional impact that the acts may have had was lost.
On a purely aesthetic level, however, the acts were occasionally rather perturbing. Highlights included a very long, slender-limbed man and someone in a cage. I couldn’t really tell you what they were doing as I’m not entirely sure myself. Jerking about, mainly. Nevertheless it was incredibly compelling to watch. There is only so much of this that one can stand, though, and the acts - even the good ones - swiftly became boring.
From the approximately thirty-two words I caught, it seems that there was an important message about life near the end, or something like that. It honestly could have been anything. I would feel wrong speculating as to the meaning of the production because I have absolutely nothing to go on. Go only if you need advice on how not to dance at parties.
