I win!
By Fleur
@Fleura (29128)
United Kingdom
May 22, 2019 5:13am CST
My friend and I have rather a history of going to see strange and unusual performances. One that sticks in my mind was a Capoeira interpretation of the Legend of King Arthur. Another was a concert by Tibetan Buddhist nuns. We’ve seen a man dancing with a digger and people performing acrobatics while playing musical instruments. I’m sure you get the idea.
Last night we went to see this:
The best way to describe it I think would be ‘music and movement with sound’. It was probably the weirdest performance I’ve ever seen. It was certainly the only one where the audience were handed leaflets to explain it on the way out! (and we still didn’t understand it).
Little One had wanted to come with us, but since the age guideline said 14+ I thought perhaps we’d better not take her. As it turned out there was nothing at all questionable about it, but I was glad she hadn’t come because I know she would have spent the whole time asking ‘What’s happening? Who’s that? What is he doing? What does it mean?’ and I would only have been able to respond ‘I don’t know, I don’t know!’
So I think I definitely win in the weirdness stakes!
Have you ever been to see something that turned out to be very strange?
All rights reserved. © copyright Fleur 2019.
A disparate group of people are caught in a storm on the High Road, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
12 people like this
11 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
22 May 19
I wonder why you were handed leaflets AFTER you had seen it! Perhaps they wanted you to form 'impressions' of the performance beforehand, only to be told how 'wrong' you were! I watched the video (short clip which doesn't tell you a lot except that there's a lot of flashing lights and strobed movement together with some vaguely Irish-sounding music. I have to say that the promotional video wouldn't have encouraged me to see the performance, really.
I actually went to a performance at our local library last Saturday which was nearly as strange. It was entitled 'Dastaan' and wa described as "Heart pounding live music from around the world, including Rjasthani folk, Welsh folk, Indian ballads and jazz." (There wasn't actually any jazz because, it seemed. the saxophonist couldn't make it).
In spite of the fact that the leader introduced the songs very briefly and almost inaudibly ("This is a song celebrating the festival of Holi" was all that we were told about a quite long ballad in Hindi, for example), the music was,indeed, inspiring and beautifully performed on Paraguayan harp, Indian tabla (double ended drum), Rjasthani 'bones' (actually strips of wood played, like the bones, with both hands, a pair for each) and Persian setar (a long necked instrument with three strings). The second half of the performance was a silent film (very beautifully and excellently shot) comprising slow dance movements and Persian calligraphy accompanied by the musicians.
'Dastaan' means 'story' or 'life story' in Farsi, so, presumably, the whole piece was intended to illustrate the story (or stories) of the performer's (or the audience's?) lives. It was, as I say, largely incomprehensible but still moving and beautiful!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
22 May 19
@Fleura I found it enjoyable and stimulating because I have always been interested in 'weird' instruments and 'World Music' (as it is termed these days). I'm not sure what others made of it. I hope they enjoyed it. At least all the seats were taken and I didn't notice that many left at half time. Even though we have quite a lot of Asians in the village, none of them were there, which we thought a little strange.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16533)
• China
22 May 19
They should give out leaflets to audience before the performance began, rather than on the way out.
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
24 May 19
Not that I can remember, I am a bit more of a traditionalist, lol Shakespeare, Moliere or Oscar WIlde.
1 person likes this
@everwonderwhy (6697)
•
22 May 19
Strange and unusual interpretation of something dark, doom and gloom. But captivating enough to enthrall the audience like a spell cast upon them.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
22 May 19
Perhaps it's what's it all about, confusing the audience, that's the come on
1 person likes this
