REVIEW: Musical Chairs Interrogates Social Media in Society
Brilliant. Phenomenal. Inspiring. Fascinating. No one word is enough to sum up Musical Chairs, currently showing at Theatre on the Square in Sandton. The performance itself has no words scripted into it, which says everything and nothing all at once.
Directed by Aurelie Stratton, Hungani Ndlovu and Sipho Didiza, it is primarily choreographed by Genesis Shirindza from The Locksmiths Collective.
In an amalgamation of Amapiano, hip hop, house and Campbellock dance styles, a story is told primarily through movement and bodily expression. Classical music and electronic beats juxtapose one another throughout the hour-long performance. Momentarily, traditional theatre and contemporary dance merge to be one.
The narrative of society’s obsession with social media unravels throughout this intriguing show as eight dancers meet on stage and leave everything they have behind.
A Story of Social Media & Society
Musical Chairs delves into the deepest and darkest corners of social media. At the forefront is society’s interaction with social platforms and how they navigate the many streams.
Furthermore, themes of power dynamics, trends, love, acceptance and rejection are interrogated throughout the dance performance. Vividly, the performers portray the ins and outs of our digital lives.
Throughout the theatrical masterpiece, facial expressions depict universal emotions often felt whilst scrolling through social media. It’s where you put your best self forward and leave as a fragment of yourself, isn’t it? In the end, it seems that no one is stronger than the force of social media and one wonders… is conformity the only way to survive? Is this just a fact society needs to accept, or is their still time to challenge the effects of social media?
Mechanisms to Tell the Story
With only four, sometimes five chairs as props, the dancers’ bodies are the only medium they need to tell this universal story. Together with layered and intentional lighting, multidisciplinary music scenes and audience interaction, the performance is stripped bare.
They captivate the audience, with theatre goers’ eyes never straying from the stage. Musical Chairs is an extended metaphor and satirical comment on how social media draws people in and then spits them out.
Why Musical Chairs Matters
There is no denying that social media runs our lives. University, work and social aspects of life are dominated by online platforms used to communicate with each other and gather information. Almost everything you need to know about someone, can be found online. Yes, everything you want people to know (or don’t) can be found in the depths of the internet.
Society is obsessed with social media, whether they are sharing their experiences or watching others. Influence is most strongly wielded by social platforms and most people are passive receptors. In essence, Musical Chairs is an educational play that explains how social media can negatively affect society.
Musical Chairs – a mix of reality and fiction – brings profound and detailed commentary on social issues. It is delivered in a thought-provoking way, resulting in laughter and tears in the audience, while blood, sweat and tears meet up on stage.
Musical Chairs runs until 2 February. Book now.
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