Mamoru Iriguchi performs live, rigged up with a screen around his face and a projector above his head. Iriguchi explores the relationship between recorded material and live performance, while calling on Hollywood stars of the past. In discussing, using, and wearing technology, Iriguchi truly embodies his subject matter.
steeped in imagination, inventiveness and thoughtful poeticism.
In this unique, hour-long performance Iriguchi takes the audience through the turbulent story of Marlene Dietrich’s life. With his face poking out of the screen around his head where Dietrich’s face should be and dressed in a pink tuxedo while the audience watch wearing practically useless but symbolic 3D glasses, the piece instantly has a flash of absurdity about it. Iriguchi’s sincere performance and the thought provoking nature of the subject retains its substance.
At first a seemingly straightforward retelling of Dietrich’s life, the work takes on its full significance in the second half of the performance, where the entire show is played back in reverse. This retelling makes way for a wealth of intriguing new meaning. Whille the piece as a whole is an exploration of Dietrich’s life and the conflation of film and live performance, the second half sees it become more about mortality. This point poignantly comes to light as the audience watch themselves, 60 minutes younger, leave the theatre in the reversed film footage.
Iriguchi’s performance is gentle in its humour and wit; a lot of the comedy came from the very delicate balancing act he carried out just wearing the screen and projector, his deadpan delivery of the script and the distinctly home-made feel of the production as a whole. Admittedly, the use of technology could be tightened slightly. For instance, at points the subtitles Iriguchi scrolls through manually in the second half moved forward a little too fast to read. However, if the production did make use of slicker technology, a large part of its charm and humour would be lost.
4D Cinema, as the title would suggest, proved to be a very immersive, engaging performance, steeped in imagination, inventiveness and thoughtful poeticism.
