THE HANGOVER REPORT – Alan Cumming and Steven Hoggett’s BURN conjures fellow Scotsman Robert Burns in fever dream fashion

Alan Cumming in “Burn” at The Joyce Theater (photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan).

In coup-like fashion, The Joyce Theater opened its typically ambitious fall season last night with the highly anticipated New York premiere of Alan Cumming and Steven Hoggett’s curious but welcome hybrid collaboration Burn. First seen this past summer at the Edinburgh Festival, the evening length dance theater piece conjures and recounts the fascinating life of Robert Burns, perhaps Scotland’s premiere poet and lyricist and one of the proud region’s favorite sons.

The piece has been assembled from Burns’ letters and poems. In patchwork, they chart his evolution as an artist, husband/lover, and member of society. With a running time of just about an hour, the production succinctly but effectively encapsulates his life through emotive gestural movements, with the significant support of some brilliant multimedia flourishes (special kudos go to the vivid contributions of video projection and sound designers Andrzej Goulding and Matt Padden, respectively). Ultimately, Burn is an artful meditation on the heightened rush of life itself, as well as a testament to the ability of art to prevail beyond human life by virtue of making sense out ifs inherent chaos. That being said, Burn is most impactful when taken at face value as a surreal, steam-of-conscience fever dream that must run out of steam at some point due to the laws of biology and physics.

As for Cumming’s performance, fans will get what they came for. His trademark smirks and double entendres in place, the Tony-winning actor injects visceral charm and personality into his portrayal of his revered countryman. As a dancer, Cumming has always been a raw and instinctual mover, which makes him an ideal match for Hoggett, whose organic choreography has a way of bearing the very souls of the characters he moves (if you’ve seen his distinctive choreography for Main Stem works like Once, you know what I mean). 

RECOMMENDED

BURN
Dance Theater
The Joyce Theater
1 hour (without an intermission)
Through September 25

Categories: Dance

Leave a Reply