Six performers moved in and around a scaffolding structure erected in St. Andrews Square to a backdrop of blue sky and splitting sun. This was Leaving, Limbo, Landing, an outdoor performance exploring ‘journey, placement, displacement, settling, arrivals and departures’ supported by the Made in Scotland Platform and created by choreographer and director Caroline Bowditch.
At the beginning of the piece the performers make their way through the audience, one carrying suitcases, another with a coat made out of bubble wrap, another with balloons tied to her body, yet another with luggage tags attached to her dress. The costumes are playful, some giving a gentle nod to clowning, and they set the scene for the light tone of the piece.
While there are hints at stories of displacement, the 12 individual stories of moving which the show was based on never really made it to the forefront of the piece. It was, instead, the six female performers, with their craft and skill in dance and aerial work, who made Leaving, Limbo, Landing into a strikingly beautiful piece of work. The performers travelled up and down the scaffolding, bodies never quite grounded but between here and there, this and that. With this fluidity of movement they provoked a sense of uncertainty and anticipation, the musicality of their bodies complementing the musical score.
There were some strong images in this piece: an image of a girl with balloons tied to her body with her back to the audience, another of luggage tags being ripped from a dress, another of a girl swinging from a rope. These images, as well as others, made the piece a joy to watch. This was a lovely eventful performance made all the stronger by the generosity and openness of the performers.
