69 degrees S. (The Shackleton Project)
Multimedia performance, Paramount Center Mainstage, Boston
February 11, 2012

Created by Phantom Limb, Directed by Sophie Hunter
Recorded performance by Kronos Quartet
Live performance and music by Skeleton Key

This live performance used theatre, dance, puppetry, photography and film to take the audience on a journey exploring the relationships of humans with the environment.  Utilizing the real life story of Sir Shackleton's trans-Antarctic expedition in which Shackleton and his men must leave their ship frozen in the Antarctic ice and search for help in the extreme environment, the performance attempts to "evoke ideas around the fragility of the earth's landscape, the concept of collective survival and the eternal struggle to lead life gracefully and with honor for each other and our surroundings"(excerpt from the Creator's note).

The film and sound used in the performance are the two media on which I'd like to comment.  Film is projected throughout the performance onto the back wall of the stage, the floor as well as onto 'icebergs' made of Tyvek.  The effect of these black and white moving images gave the audience a sense of place and time amidst a somewhat abstract theatrical performance that included no dialogue.  There were multiple films projected simultaneously, some with blurry images of Shackletons' men trekking across a mountain, some images more abstract or exaggerated to create a sense of the harsh conditions of wind, snow, ice (large white splotches projected atop another film to represent snow, or perhaps reflections of the icy waters in which their ship was frozen).  There was also found footage of World War I interspersed with snowy scenes, adding a historical reference for viewers as to the world events happening at the time of Shackleton's ill-fated expedition.  I found the film portion of the performance critical in understanding the story.

The performance did not attempt to tell the story through a narrator, rather utilized other sound that was multi-faceted, including recorded as well as live music and other created sounds.  The rising and falling volume as well as pace of the music attempted to evoke emotions from the audience, at once empathizing with the men in their dangerous expedition and other times, moving viewers to consider the fascinatingly harsh yet fragile environment.  The live sound piece was performed by four artists positioned throughout the theater, adding layers of sound to the recorded sound piece.  The one jarring moment of sound came when the six performers burst out laughing.  Halfway through the performance, as viewers had become accustomed to hearing no voices, the laughs came as a bewildering surprise - perhaps, an attempt to depict the rise and fall of hope in isolation among the men as they waited for help.