The Moon at Midnight | SCPA Review by Jillian Ung
The Moon at Midnight, choreographed and created by Amber Borotsik, is a piece that manifests at the intersection between dance, theatre and sound. This fifty-five-minute masterpiece, performed by nine multi-talented performers, takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, full of confusion, fear, excitement – in fact, pretty much the full range of adrenalin stimulants. At the beginning, the performers are moving to a very popular Beyoncé song; almost immediately I sense that each individual performer has a vital character that will captivate me through the entire performance. As I watch this thrilling presentation, I find myself calm, until out of nowhere an explosion of sound, lights, colours and movements makes me jump right out of my seat. The lighting and sound design, created by Stephanie Bahniuk and Aaron Marci, intensifies the piece through amazing creativity, the lighting changes in colour and shape help imply and amplify the mood and the scene. The sound score and intense breaths add shocking dynamics, making my mood twist and turn. Not only is the performance well put together, but a sense of truth and clarity pervades various scenes. This compelling performance intrigued me, demanding my wrapt attention. I found myself constantly interested in what was happening, and curious about what was going to happen next. The piece resulted in a mix of emotions as well as a near continuous flux of brain power, as if I was trying to contain the knowledge the performance was presenting. In my opinion this performance is absolutely radiant.