28 June 2021

Impulstanz 2021 starts with performances like Trajal Harrell's fashion-catwalk inspired dance interpretation 'Maggie The Cat' of Tennessee Williams' play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'

The workshop programme of the upcoming Impulstanz Festival (15 July - 15 August) was released already in April (article). This month in mid-June, the dates and locations of the performances of the more than 60 productions followed. The information was published online and as a printed programme booklet. One of the first productions on view at the booklet (with texts in German and English) is the dance interpretation 'Maggie The Cat' of Tennessee Williams' theatre play 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof', which was set prominently into cinematic scenery by Hollywood with Elizabeth Taylor (as Maggie, the cat) and Paul Newman.

The new view on the role allocations of the main characters with focus on the black servants is realized with a diverse cast; Trajal Harrell appears as 'Big Mama'. On occasion of the world premiere in 2019 in Manchester, the performance with voguing, catwalk dance moves received positive critics such as by The Guardian with an article, which starts with the first impression of the talent of New York-based choreographer Trajal Harrell: "Sometimes you see a dance work you don't know much about, yet recognise – the moment it begins – that you are going to follow that choreographer to the ends of the earth from now on. …" and is continued with the description of Harrell's stage design and dance vocabulary such as for the expression of meaning on a sociological level.

Image: 'Maggie The Cat' by Trajal Harrell (US). A scene from 'Maggie The Cat' by Trajal Harrell @ The Dancehouse, Manchester. A World Premiere, part of MIF 2019; (Opening 11-07-19). Photo: © Tristram Kenton. The Austrian premiere of 'Maggie The Cat' happens on 16 July 2021 at Akademietheater (details at impulstanz.com).