Directed and choreographed by Michael Keegan-Dolan, Mám opened at the Lowry, as part of its debut UK tour for Dance Consortium – and it was sublime.
Mám was a big surprise for me, merging two of my favourite things – folk music and the supernatural – into this visually eye-catching piece where you are focused solely on these performances.
Nominated for an Olivier Award, Mám sees a group of dancers summon a whirlwind of myth and magic, moved by the collaborative music-making of traditional concertina player Cormac Begley and the European classical contemporary collective Stargaze, performed live on stage.
It was clear to me, from the outset, that these dancers were being controlled by the music, embracing this almost chaotic (but in the best way possible) and freeing side of dance, where they all seemed to be dancing to the beat of their own drum.
Some segments felt as if they were leaning into the playfulness and fun of childhood, whilst others felt like they were exploring their emotions, both in a very physical way, which keeps your attention locked onto these performances throughout the piece.
This was, in part, due to the stripped-back set design of Sabine Dargant, whose work didn’t feel as if it were taking focus away from these dancers but, instead, complemented them, keeping the audience focused on the action being presented on stage.
There are some lovely moments of set design here, where individual curtains are stripped back to reveal a new layer of set. Perhaps the most beautiful representation of this is when the white curtain gets stripped away to reveal the blue underneath.
This revealed Stargaze beautifully and gave them a moment to really shine as all the other performers on stage stopped to allow them to have their moment in the spotlight.
The pacing of this piece never felt too fast or too slow as the live music from Cormac Begley and Stargaze brought new changes of dynamics and tempo. This beautifully impacted the performances on stage and caused the dancers to feel more taken with the chaotic side of the music, sometimes acting as this threatening presence and other times as this jovial one of hope.
The central question the show repeatedly conjures is the presence of a little girl, almost always staged at the heart of these moments. Her positioning becomes a defining mark of the production. Again and again, the staging finds quietly beautiful ways to fix her in the audience’s minds, such as a single row of chairs placed as an audience to Stargaze and the tiered seating upstage left.
What I love most about this piece is the emphasis on the girl and how nothing gets revealed until the end, allowing the audience to make up their own interpretations throughout the show.
So, when the revelation comes at the end of this show, through another gorgeous moment of Sabine Dargant’s set design, you feel at one with the piece, as if you are able to truly understand what role this little girl plays. She acts as this force, as this presence, that is actively controlling these performers.
Michael Keegan-Dolan’s choreography in this moment is simply breathtaking to witness firsthand as this girl stands on the central rostra and, essentially, conducts these performers to sing.
Teaċ Daṁsa’s production of Mám is not afraid to be bold, a production that had me gripped from the start. This subtly explored themes of togetherness, connection, and the innate power of dance to create something magical on stage – that was a real big surprise for me.
While Mám’s run at The Lowry Theatre has finished, the show has moved onto other venues, which are listed here.
★★★★★
