Empty Orchestra – Byre Theatre

Dominic Corr

Oct 6

Choreography by Lewys Holt

Choreographic Assistance/Photography and Film by Eleanor Sikorski

Produced by Perfectly Serviceable and Discerning Nights

Review by Ben Connaughton

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In front of a long, shimmering curtain stands a microphone and a laptop: they don't offer much protection for those who have found the courage to sing in front of perfect strangers. Karaoke nights have highs and lows, and Empty Orchestra, a new dance show from perfectly serviceable, guides us through the soaring victories and eyewatering embarrassments that inevitably arise when you try singing like Dolly Parton or Stevie Wonder.

The piece is hilarious. If you haven't seen Lewys Holt craning their neck to whisper Fast Car by Tracy Chapman into a microphone that is definitely too low, then you haven't lived - and the BSL interpreter is loving it as much as the audience.

Holt's choreography is mesmerising: it doesn't have a definite start or break for applause. We don't see the seams, and we don't see the hands which crafted it. Every movement feels spontaneously improvised, catapulting from one emotion to the next: true to life, in a way. There's never a stepwise ascent from anxiety to empowerment, but always a gradual transformation. The piece also demonstrates a strong sense of musicality, highlighting both the hidden rhythms within the music and the particular beats and nuances of the singing voice. Empty Orchestra deftly reframes familiar hits and offers choreography which is uniquely communicative.

This sense of experimentalism continues with onstage instruments complimenting the recorded tracks. Particularly effective was dancer Inari Hulkkonen using the feedback from an upturned microphone strumming acoustic guitar strings to create a contemplative, oceanic riff on Dolly Parton's Jolene. This inventive use of soundscape captured the dense, numb, sinking feeling which follows public embarrassment or rejection.

The piece, however, never leaves us in one emotional extreme for too long. Soon enough, the night takes a fun and outgoing turn, with Luke Divall performing what can only be described as a 'magnificent butt dance' to …Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. The troupe also create a fun twist with Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence, in which each singer takes the mic for a few words, then sprints around the stage to join the end of the line while the next singer takes over. It's a hilarious relay race and one which feels playful and exciting.

While this is first and foremost a dance show, there is plenty of comedic dialogue thrown in by Holt's character, who strives for recognition and desperately wishes for a special day: one when they can wear their special suit. And nobody else would be 'special' on this day. Just them being special on his special day, in his special suit. It's the peak of awkward humour, but who can honestly say they've never wanted to bask in unadulterated specialness for a day?

Empty Orchestra intertwines dance, song and music to guide audiences through the heightened emotions of karaoke. It is a playful and engaging piece of dance theatre that has all the humanity and poignancy of a night out and, with audience singalongs, truly is a great time for all.

Playful and engaging dance theatre.

Empty Orchestra was performed at the Byre Theatre on October 4th.
It continues to tour the UK through November 2023, for dates and tickets please check here.
Photo credit - Liam Keown