Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Dimitris Papaioannou’s imagery intense TRANSVERSE ORIENTATION evokes myth and religion in a parade wondrous tableaus

• By drediman
• November 8, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, Dimitris Papaioannou’s large-scale production of Transverse Orientation opened at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House for a weeklong run as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s ongoing Next Wave Festival. It’s not the first time the imaginative Greek director-choreographer’s work has been seen stateside; he previously made a splash here when his similarly ambitious The Great Tamer visited BAM in 2019 (you can read my review here).

The auteur’s latest follows in the same vein as its predecessor in the tradition of highly physical and visual experimental theater. Indeed, those expecting any semblance of a sensical narrative will be disappointed. However, if you’re willing to surrender your senses to the the slow-burning art installation-like nature of the production, you’ll likely be mesmerized by Papaioannou’s imagery intense evocation of myth and religion. In the parade of outlandish but wondrous tableaus — set to a slightly altered recording of music by Vivaldi — I was intoxicated by sensual representations of virility and the cyclic nature of life (the hallucinatory depictions of the exploits of an imposing bull, the Virgin Mary giving birth to the Christ child, and the aquatic end of human civilization are all bound to stay with me).

In terms of execution, the production has been meticulously-rendered to give the effect of a Salvador Dalí painting coming to voluptuous life. There’s a controlled chaos to everything that transpires in Transverse Orientation, and it’s breathtaking to behold. From the painterly lighting, to the inventive choreography that doubles as puppeteering, to the occasional interludes of playful absurdity, Papaioannou has concocted another dreamlike masterwork that theater-goers will be talking about for a long time to come.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

TRANSVERSE UNIVERSE
Physical Theater
Brooklyn Academy of Music / Howard Gilman Opera House
1 hour, 45 minutes (without an intermission)
Through November 11