Foley-inspired dance is absolutely fabulous, darling

It’s a brave artist who chooses to re-invent the beloved British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous as contemporary dance.

Starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as the extravagant and exuberant Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone, the 1990s series ran for over a decade, earning its place in the pop culture lexicon and confirming the comic genius of creator/writer Saunders and her co-lead Lumley.

Nonetheless that’s the challenge local choreographer Scott Elstermann has set for himself in his new work Foleyvision.

Elstermann is no stranger to the concept of transforming screen work into contemporary dance; his award-winning 2019 remake of Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest Hotel revealed his ability to zero in on both movement and design details and amplify them to glorious comedic effect.

As the name suggests, in Foleyvision Elstermann turns his microscope to Foley – the recreation of everyday sound effects that are added to film, television and videos, post-production. And we’re part of the show, playing the role of a live studio audience.

Like a carefully planned three-course meal, Foleyvision is neatly divided into courses. The first act – the appetiser – sees the works’ three dancers (Bernadette Lewis, Giorgia Schijf, Nadia Priolo) po-faced and precise in office-sombre hues, on a sparsely furnished stage. Solos and duets are subtly humorous – the swing of a lasso here, the snip of scissors there – animating the soft crackles of static, glugs of liquid and muffled tones of an Ab Fab episode that form part of Rebecca Erin’s soundscape. Is that a hissy fit from Eddie that we hear as Lewis melts to the floor? The words are indistinct but the mood is audible.

It’s all highly restrained and if you’re wondering, as I was, what has happened to the promised joyful mayhem of the work’s publicity materials, don’t be alarmed. Pro-tip: pay attention to the movement details here and you’ll be rewarded later.

It’s in the second act that Elstermann starts delivering laugh-out-loud moments, as his stellar cast dives headfirst into the world of Foley, intently watching a video playback for their cues. Celery-snapping, door slamming, finger-licking; the dancers’ wide-eyed concentration and cartoon-like facial expressions and gestures delighted the opening night audience.

But as with any good meal, dessert is the real treat, a re-enactment of excerpts from Ab Fab episodes.

As in his Grand Budapest Hotel remake, Elstermann and his cast identify and magnify the essence of each character’s physicality. Priolo perfectly captures Saffy’s buttoned-up frustration with Edina and Patsy’s antics. Lewis’s ability to switch from total physical control to wild abandon makes for a gloriously unhinged Edina. And Schijf embodies and elaborates not only the physicality of Lumley’s mannerisms but her insouciant vocal tone.

It’s in the third section, too, that the cleverly hidden Easter eggs of the first act reveal themselves, for those who have been paying attention. Once prim and proper, these motifs and phrases blossom into technicoloured extravagance, aided and abetted by the gorgeously clashing patterns of Rhiannon Walker’s costumes and the vibrant tones of Peter Young’s lighting washes.

And it’s here that we can fully appreciate the clever work of sound designer, composer and Foley artist Rebecca Erin. Like Elstermann, Erin knows how to take a concept and amplify its comedic potential.

A final shoutout must go to the dancers, who so smoothly shift between the vastly different physical and expressive demands of each act, now crisp and serene, now animated by focus, now vivaciously excessive.

Elstermann has done it again. Foleyvision is a glorious tribute to both Ab Fab and the world of Foley, perfect for contemporary dance-lovers or those dipping their toes in the waters of the art form.

Sweetie, darling, don’t miss it!