BEST known for keeping your sandwiches fresh and air conditioning working, it transpires that aluminium has many other, less obvious, uses. Israeli choreographer Ilan Azriel has run the material through his imagination and come up with an unashamedl
y flashy hour of fun.
Within minutes of the show opening, the audience is passing vast lengths of tubing to the rear of the auditorium. Lights flash, music pounds and aluminium of every shape and size is wheeled, dragged and walked onstage – at one point, giant tubes deliver a dance routine, then mini-me versions poke their heads comically about a wall of screens.
Once or twice, they almost lose us, but Azriel has enough tricks up his sleeve – "eating" an audience member, an aluminium fashion show and a floating sheet of metal (more spectacular than it sounds) – to keep us hooked. There's also a degree of wonderment at the amount of hard work which has gone, and continues to go, into producing this show.
The set-up and clean-up alone involves metre upon metre of pipes and tubing, and countless pieces of tiny foil. Although hidden from view some of the time, when the dancers do appear, their movements are quick and precise, ducking through, over and under the complex equipment.
As well as entertaining his audience, Azriel hopes his show will inspire us to look at everyday materials in a new way. Certainly unwrapping your lunch will never be quite the same again.
Until 25 August. Today 6pm
The full article contains 259 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
