The Plague Dances at Malthouse

Malthouse Theatre’s 2012 Company in Residence, a collective of theatre-makers called Four Larks, have received a lot of positive attention of late. Their carnal performances are said to transcend the spectator, a trademark which won them three 2011 Green Room Awards and two the year before. Their latest show The Plague Dances opens this weekend.

Tantric and mesmerising, The Plague Dances is a danse macabre based on true events. Written by Marcel Dorney and created by Four Larks artists Mat Diafos Sweeney, Sebastian Peters-Lazaro, and Jesse Rasmussen, it was inspired by a dark moment in Strasbourg history (1518) where hundreds of townspeople were collectively ‘infected’ by the compulsion to dance — many to their deaths. It is a story of communal mania and all-consuming madness.

This tale will be interpreted by Four Larks whose rhythmic and highly sensual storytelling make seeing The Plague Dances akin to getting lost in a thick, dark forest at dusk. The rhythmic sights and sounds, coupled with the earthy atmosphere, pull theatre-goers into an immersive realm far away.

For those souls who yearn to be transported to another space and another time, the sensory avalanche that is The Plague Dances beckons.

The Plague Dances shows at Malthouse Theatre from April 14 to May 6.
Bookings and tickets at malthousetheatre.com.au or telephone 03 9685 511.