Danish dance company Granhøj Dans bring An Eve and an Adam to the Edinburgh Fringe’s Dance Base, presenting a naked, dialogue free and dance-based interpretation of the biblical creation myth. Through effective use of lightning, expressive depiction of the naked body, and movements packed with storytelling power, Granhøj Dans craft a unique theatrical experience.
Granhøj Dans share “We need to rethink our relationship to the body’s natural nudity and discuss our forms of representation of the body’s nudity in media culture…” citing a societal acceptance with showcasing nudity online, yet the taboo of nudity in natural real life contexts. Attempting to readdress this balance An Eve and an Adam, Palle Granhøj, the choreographer and director utilises the talents of dancers Mikolaj Karczewski and Sofia Pintzou to do so.
Opening on a darkened stage, light shines on two piles of leaves covering dancers Karczewski (Adam) and Pintzou (Eve), as they are born from the earth emerging from the leaves, they look at one another with confusion. Attempting to deploy some modesty, Karczewski’s Adam picks up leaves in the hope of covering his own genitals and those of Pintzou’s Eve, who frantically avoids these attempts through grand movements around the stage. Leaves are kicked thrust around the stage, leaving the previously neat piles creating a more earthy terrain on the dark stage floor.
As An Even and an Adam progresses, we see Adam and Eve explore their own bodies and potential for movement with a mix of intimate and grand movements around the stage – almost childlike in the idea of them discovering their capabilities for movement for the first time. Soon Adam and Eve’s attention turns to one another through the curious feeling and inspection of one another’s bodies. Karczewski and Pintzou grab, stretch and inspect parts of one another’s bodies with a certain scientific quality before touches turn softer and the exploring of bodies becomes more gentle, slower and intimate.
Shadows on the curtains at the back of theatre capture the smoothness and freedom of Karczewski and Pintzou’s movements, whilst effective use of lighting crafted through hanging torches which illuminate only small pockets of the stage, guiding our gaze. Lighting at the back of the stage is utilised in a staggered manner which provides further variety and ingenuity. Other than the sound of the movements of Karczewski and Pintzou, archive audio clips provide further biblical contextualisation. As events progress, An Eve and an Adam depicts the temptation presented by the forbidden fruit, with apples utilised throughout the last act – quite comically in the final seconds of the piece.
Granhøj Dans succeed in their mission of normalising natural nudity with the nakedness of the performers feeling less of note by the final moments of An Eve and an Adam. The gently absorbing movements of the skilled Karczewski and Pintzou draw us into this elegantly staged piece, which will prove a rewarding experience for open-minded Fringe audiences.