Dance / Wired, The Training Ground. At Erindale Theatre, August 2-3. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

The inspiration for Wired came from a true story out of Massachusetts in the ‘80s, in a case where a teenaged male hid himself inside the walls of the house where a 15-year-old girl was living, terrorising her and her family.

In this presentation, the psychological consequences on the three housemates living in this inhabited house are explored, along with the history of the house and the morphing terrors that lurk within.

Wired opened with a pas de deux between Greta (Jemima Paul) and The Watcher (Larina Bagic), who worked beautifully around each other with lovely leg lines, and controlled extensions. Was this a previous occurrence, a former tenant, or a flash forward of things to come…

The animated projection of a lounge room with a strange combination of old cabinetry, a modern coffee table, old books and paintings and an old-fashioned clock suggested a continuing saga for those who have, or will, move into this house.

As the new housemates moved in with their boxes, their personalities were quickly established through their costumes and solos: Greta wore a demure navy tunic, Tess (Emily McCoy), a prim, white collar and black unitard, calling to mind Wednesday from the Addams family and Leo (Charlie Thomson), the only male in the cast, in bright red pants, was the larrikin.

The torment began, focusing on Greta. The ensemble joined The Watcher in the psychological torment of the housemates. Clad in light-coloured, short-leg unitards, with the appearance of dripping paint, or blood, in black dye covering their shoulders and torsos, the cast were immaculately presented, as has been the case in each production from The Training Ground. Each dancer had perfectly slicked hair and uniform make-up. The unitards were gorgeous and the ensemble had some super-fast costume changes and adjustments, which they managed smoothly.

The Training Ground has established a distinct dance style and choreographic vocabulary, with the dancers performing precise, staccato movements, usually exactly to the beat of the music. There is a lot of floorwork and clever patterns and domino effects created by the group are visually pleasing and give the choreography texture.

Intricate partner and shadow work between the female characters highlight the dancers’ skills and talent, with Bagic displaying fluidity, ease and control in her dancing in her second lead role with the company. The leads also do a good job in their acting. The precision, both individually and en masse is striking and allows the audience to relax and forget about whether the execution will land and just focus on the performance.

Cowboy Hat Films created a dynamic and detailed multimedia design for the backdrop, which comes to life, morphs and melts throughout the course of the show, providing its own character. As the house began to crumble and decay, the dancers appeared to manually manipulate the animated paintings. This production element was definitely a star of the show.

The dancers “take over” from the backdrop, becoming the fabric of the house, but at one stage, there was a short period without any music or tech and it appeared there may have been a real-life glitch amongst the intended power shorts and surges.

Conceptually, there was a lot to explore but the production lacked nuance and a steady build to a climax. Rather, it started at about 90 and left itself nowhere to go. The bed scene was brilliantly choreographed and performed and would have been the perfect end to the first act, but another ensemble piece, with green lighting and a zombie-like appearance from the dancers dissipated the tension.

The music mostly consisted of strings, violins and once the “scary movie” music began at high volume, it was unrelenting for the entire performance, albeit with some heavy remixes of contemporary songs included. Chairs appeared to rise on their own to “In the Air Tonight”, red eyes peered through holes in the wall, strobe lights flashed through the auditorium and red patterns were projected on the walls. A myriad of colour palettes were used for the lighting design and every idea and effect to increase the dramatic elements seemed to have been included, culminating in an electrifying ending – literally!

Creators and choreographers Bonnie Neate and Suzi Piani, in the fourth production from The Training Ground, have again produced a high-quality and entertaining show and continue to harbour and produce strong dancers. Several previous leads have gone on to pursue professional careers. The full-length productions, testing the stamina, dedication and co-operation of these young and dedicated performers is a delight to witness and these talented and hard-working dancers should be rightfully proud of what they have presented in Wired.

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