EIF: Samsara

Lyceum Theatre – 18/08/22

The Great Circle of Life

A few months ago, I was intrigued by an entry in the EIF Programme, ‘Samsara, the wheel or circle of life’. It advertised a dance piece which would examine the Buddhist and Hindu notion of a cycle of birth, life and re-birth, seen through the eyes of Indian and Chinese culture.

Consequently, I turned up at the lovely Lyceum Theatre last night for a one hour performance of ‘Samsara’, by the Leicester-based Aakash Odedra Company, and what a revelation it turned out to be!

As a semi-retired opera singer with a bad back, I am not here to give you any detailed critique of the movement involved in this extraordinary performance, but I hope I can convey some of the wonder I and the audience experienced last night.

Two dancers, Anglo-Indian, Aakash Odedra, and Chinese, Hu Shenyuan, have choreographed a complex two hander which sets out to demonstrate the cycle of life from birth through to rebirth, by means of an amazing, almost telepathic, sequence of movements, using dance techniques, clever lighting, sand (a lot of sand) and skilful musical accompaniment. Over the course of an hour, these two are on stage throughout, weaving a complex and mesmerising tapestry of movement, involving birth, love, war, age, death and re-birth, perfectly matched by the virtuosic music provided by the three on-stage musicians, Michael Ormiston, Beibei Wang and Nicki Wells, who also composed the music.

There were highlights aplenty within the context of the whole piece: early on, the actors walked slowly across the stage in vertical shafts of light, but when they ceased to be lit, they moved like lightning to new positions, a seemingly impossible distance from their last lit place, yet every lit movement was slow, languid and gracious. Their bodies intertwined at times to reveal beautiful images, as two became one and vice versa. The extraordinary use of sand, both on the floor and pouring from the flies was brilliantly conceived and achieved. The use of clothes, putting on and taking off, was extremely clever, never gratuitous, always respectful.

The three musicians, sometimes lit, sometimes not, combined brilliantly, and formed an integral part of the show. Nikki Wells, with her fabulously expressive voice, covering a huge range of notes and styles, might have dominated were it not for the wild and thrilling drumming of Beibei Wang, who could also restrain herself when necessary. Any resemblance to Muppet drummers was all in our minds! Michael Ormiston, playing an eastern string instrument and also using the Mongolian overtone singing technique to extraordinary effect, provided the harmonic basis for the sound.

All in all, this was a wonderful show, again highlighting the essence of the Edinburgh Festival, highly skilled performers bringing something new and fascinating to our attention, stimulating discussion and wonder in equal parts.

Cover photo: Jassy Earl