Dance review: The Judgement of Paris

Published on Tuesday 12 August 2008 21:42

THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS *** ROCKET @ DEMARCO ROXY ART HOUSE (VENUE 61)

DRESSED in basques, fishnets and high heels, the performers in this sexually charged show welcome us into the auditorium. Their costume rails sit for all to see and as they chat merrily waiting for the show to start – there's no fourth wall pretence, they're here to entertain, and we're here to be entertained. Which is exactly what happens.

Held together, albeit loosely, by a cabaret/circus style MC, the show fuses dance, physical theatre and some fine acting by Brooklyn-based Company XIV. Inspired by Greek myth, the Judgement of Paris, and several blonde bombshells who followed in Helen of Troy's wake, themes of lust, infidelity and revenge are played out by a talented cast of four women and two men. Emotional monologues by King Menelaus and Paris, played by the same actor, are particularly effective, as are the raucous moments of the cancan.

Once the story is told, however, the show meanders clumsily to its conclusion. A post-war Q&A with Helen goes nowhere, while the use of microphones is unnecessary and incongruous. A great show masquerading as a good one.

• Until 25 August. Today 8:15pm