Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Black rage courses through Ian Andrew Askew’s multidisciplinary SLAMDANCE GARAGE

• By drediman
• February 12, 2025
• No Comments

Then there’s SLAMDANCE garage at The Bushwick Starr, Ian Andrew Askew’s unclassifiable solo show that’s been produced in association with ¡Oye! Group. In his multidisciplinary piece, Askew plays with disparate forms, essentially using performance art — namely, a heady mix of art installation, rock concert, ritual rites, brooding dance, and spoken word — to mine the essence of Blackness. The work insists on the limitations of conventional modes of communication and theatrical presentation to articulate the Black experience, instead opting for a more visceral approach to express it.

In turn ferocious and tenderly supportive (at one point, Askew asks an audience member to prevent him from having a simulated panic attack by merely providing a caring touch), SLAMDANCE garage‘s contradictory emotions — which vacillate wildly between aggression and vulnerability — can admittedly be a bit on the jarring side despite being only an hour in length. Music plays a big role, coursing through the show powerfully and organically. Drawing heavily on the punk aesthetic, Black rage seethes through the percussion-driven songs, which Askew singlehandedly constructs via a looping machine and augments with a one string bass and distorted vocals. Searching poetic text is also prominently featured, wherein repetition is used to induce a meditative state, thankfully counteracting the sensory overload of it all. Although there’s something downright operatic about the emotions on display, I got the general feeling that I wasn’t quite the target audience to take them to heart, very much like I wasn’t in Aleshea Harris’s acclaimed What to Send Up When it Goes Down, another communal cleansing session for the Black community.

From a technical standpoint, the heavily stylized production is quite impressive. Both the elaborate lighting design and overwhelming sound design are meant to thoroughly immerse audiences, half of whom are actually asked to stand and partake in the show’s more interactive alspects. Even if SLAMDANCE garage doesn’t quite all hold together, there’s no questioning the rigor and discipline of Askew’s relentless, restless performance, which goes a long way in convincingly conveying a deep sense of unhinged and unfiltered outrage.

RECOMMENDED

SLAMDANCE GARAGE
Off-Broadway, Multidisciplinary
The Bushwick Starr / ¡Oye! Group
1 hour (without an intermission)
Through February 22