Last year's production from RootlessRoot Company and DOT504 Dance Company was a fantastic success, taking Edinburgh by storm. Whilst this piece contains several impressive moments, it sadly doesn't live up to the same magic as last year.The performance tells the story of seven characters searching for their ten thousand lost dreams and one worthy sense of life. It is like a succession of snapshots of different scenarios, each one revealing something more yet with varied success.There are moments of utter brilliance: a spectacular choreographed fight explodes in a frenzy of energy and acrobatics two-thirds of the way in. The stage becomes awash with a sea of flowing moving pictures in a glorious explosion of movement and patterns. Elsewhere, both passion and aggression are symbolised to perfection through a mass of inter-twining bodies and the level of intricate detail is outstanding. The use of both sound and silence is also excellent. The anguished humming, the strains of folk guitar, the hammering of wood all effectively create and evoke key moods throughout the piece, whilst pure silence is also highly important. The haunting image of a lone figure constantly to-ing and fro-ing with a trowel of soil is a beautiful one, augmented even so by the subtle noises behind.However, the scenes suffer majorly whenever dialogue is introduced. The scenes are too long, the dialogue too turgid. Whilst subtlety is everywhere in the physical movement, it is woefully lacking in the delivery of lines with one actor choosing to alternate between a childish tantrum and bordering on the insane.It is almost as if they are trying to be TOO clever; the piece works at its best when it uses its physical imagery at the forefront, creating images that are both simple and profound. The final picture of the journey of mankind, complete with rows and rows of dinosaurs was absolutely amazing; it is a shame that too much of the piece veered away from what this company does exceptionally well.
