Sonya Tayeh’s The Surge is a thrilling and haunting tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor, performed by a cast of 10 dancers at Aviva Studios in Manchester. The show, described as a wild wake, channels O’Connor’s troubled soul and piercing voice through movement and music.
A Devotional Dance
The performance begins with the dancers seated on pews, swaying and sliding as O’Connor’s voiceover from her memoir plays: “Songs are ghosts.” They leap up, circle, and shudder, possessed by the songs. The choreography, by Tayeh (known for Moulin Rouge! and a Black Swan musical), is inventive and frequently thrilling, especially in unison. However, the intensity wavers in the middle section, which becomes a series of mournful vignettes.
Striking Moments and Talented Dancers
The dancers, many veterans of New York’s indie dance scene with a combined age over 500, are the show’s glory. Karine Plantadit delivers a suspended solo to Tiny Grief Song, Lisa Race slides resiliently down tilted benches, and the ensemble rocks out to Red Football. Tom Visser’s lighting washes the stage in copper or sickly green, enhancing the mood.
The show ends with a poignant handclasp, a community grieving but exalted. The Surge runs at Aviva Studios, Manchester, until 27 June.
