The six-strong cast of Luca Silvestrini’s Protein Dance vividly captures the extremes of excitement and loneliness associated with mobile communication and online social media in this high-energy dance theatre work that dissects and examines the nature of our obsession with the world of the virtual network, and questions its alarming replacement of human interaction. Silvestrini lists several definitions of LOL, ‘laughing out loud’, ‘lack of love’ and ‘losers on line’ amongst others, each of which pops up in this piece.A strong, diverse cast speak in the clunky, abbreviated language of text and instant messaging whilst they dance both abstract and narrative choreography. The ensemble effectively creates, by turns, the chaos of multiple simultaneous electronic communications and the solitude of online life, equipped with only an empty stage and a colourful bundle of wires. Updates, pokes, new friendships and groups are articulated through physical gesture as we meet an array of characters from lonely hearts desperately seeking cyber romance to online shopping addicts. All unfolds to an upbeat soundtrack by Andy Pink, punctuated by the familiar sounds of message alerts and keyboard tapping.LOL is a witty and timely creation, and holds appeal for both the self-confessed internet addict and the social media sceptic. The piece makes a bold attempt at uncovering the underlying issues of our society’s growing reliance on virtual relationships and electronic communication and, although it’s essentially a fairly shallow exploration, there are some touching moments in which the vulnerability of the characters is revealed.
