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Tryptych

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 5 Published: 26 Apr 2026 Studio Theatre Show Dates: 24 Apr 2026-25 Apr 2026

It’s unusual for a stage production to prompt the metaphor of multi-dimensional data analysis, but Triptych is no ordinary dance show. Revived by Lewis Major Projects for a European tour, each of the pieces extends dance beyond the usual three dimensions of space, plus sound.

A stunning, mind-bending show

The show opens with the solo Two X Three. Choreographed by Russell Maliphant and with electronic rock music by Andy Cowton, Elsi Faulks commandingly performs the piece in partnership with the costume and dim orange lighting (design by Michael Hulls). The sections of bare skin, contrasted with the black costume, work with the dim light to emphasise a disembodied foot or face or the length of an arm. The movement is predominantly angular and rigid. The light pulses are imperceptible to the eye but are enough to leave ghosting trails of arm movements, adding time to the dimensions of the dance.

The middle piece, Unfolding, is of epic scale contained within a few minutes. With cinematic music by James Brown, the choreography of Lewis Major joins with the gob-smacking visual design of Fausto Brusamolino so that the lighting is effectively a fifth dance partner to the four bodies on stage. The piece opens with them in machine-like angular motions reminiscent of the first dance. The dancing opens up, however, as the flat planes of lasers move across the bodies and the lasers take on the role of stage set as they form a pyramid shape over the dancers. The lighting then ripples over the undulating bodies as the dance takes the tone of a sci-fi nature documentary about mysterious underwater creatures.

The setting changes again for the solo by Rebecca Bassett-Graham. Here, the lighting transforms the floor into a psychedelic set that makes 2001: A Space Odyssey look tame. Bassett-Graham displays incredible timing as she moves with the lighting along inter-dimensional gangplanks, or is set spinning by a rotating floor. This section – perhaps a journey using unimaginable technology? – concludes when she is joined by Elsi Faulks in a duet of mirrored actions, this section closing on a note of human connection. The male dancers (Oliver Chapman and Lewis Major) rejoin for the conclusion, and the four meet in the semi-dark in formations of strange creatures.

Epilogue is a solo performed by Elsi Faulks to electronically treated Claude Debussy piano music by Dane Yates and Lewis Major. The choreography, lighting and costume design are by Lewis Major. The floor and the dancer’s body are covered in chalk. If the opening piece was angular, this piece is all about curves. The dancer creates circles and curves in the chalk on the stage, and trails white dust clouds in the air following her movements, creating a history of her dance on the flat dimensions of the floor and the three dimensions of the air.

The solos perform the task of revealing or reminding us of things we overlook (the normally invisible patterns of movement on the ground or through time), while Unfolding intuits the mental and unknown.

A stunning, mind-bending show.

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The Blurb:

A unique collaboration performance between the rising star of Australian dance, choreographer-director Lewis Major with his mentor: legendary British dancemaker, Russell Maliphant OBE.

A stunning fusion of movement, light and design

An evening of mixed repertoire pieces investigates various poetic possibilities, universal rhythms and cycles performed by Major’s world-class dancers. This is a captivating evening of dance, of connection between internal and external worlds – of non-duality – all set within a whirling maelstrom of movement, sound and light.

Triptych is a mixed bill of dance made up of three short works: Two x Three by Russell Maliphant OBE, and Unfolding and Epilogue by Lewis Major.