Lycra and Life

Review: Malcolm Calder

Hyperspace

By Albert Belz

A Te Pou Theatre production

In collaboration with

Auckland Theatre Company

Director Tainui Tukiwaho

Choreography Jack Gray

Production Design Filament 11, Rachel Marlow

Costume Design Alison Reid

Sound Design Crescendo Studio, David Atai

ASB Waterfront Theatre

Until 24 February

Review by Malcolm Calder

9 February 2024

I wasn’t living in New Zealand in the nineties. But I’m told the social scene and context here was pretty international in flavour and that Wellington echoed what was happening in Sydney, Singapore or Saskatchewan – albeit with a touch of local flavour.

However, it’s important to remember that the 1990s are now 30 years ago. Back then our coffee obsession was only just beginning, there was no internet in everyone’s pocket and jazzercise was an important social interaction for many. In lots of ways this era summed up the golden years of a then youthful gen-X’s attitudes, its focus on lifestyle and, to some extent, its sense of entitlement.

Alex Belz’s new play Hyperspace is perhaps set in 1990 or thereabouts and opens with huge energy, some great aerobics moves and a thumping soundtrack filled with music and popular culture references that many will recall 30 years later. It also evokes an incessant and subtle awareness of the onward march of American socio-cultural, habits and pastimes with an Aotearoa twist.

But, as the first act meandered along, I wondered what ATC and Te Pou were doing presenting something that was little more than a trite and self-indulgent dance party – almost a rather one-dimensional follow up to Belz’s earlier and well-received prequel Astroman. It seemed little more than a gen-X take on the nineties with a bit of familial debate thrown in and loads of dance party atmosphere. Sure there was a little character development, the music got my feet tapping and the lycra was very colourful, but each of the characters seemed fairly shallow and obsessed with themselves and with trivia – perhaps because they were. It was all a bit indulgent, a bit long, and didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Until we got to Belz’s hook. He uses a potentially life-threatening physical issue to do so, and his play swiftly morphs into something that sympathetically and realistically addresses a whole range of societal and emotional issues. The hook starts out as an almost unnoticed gentle left feint in the first act, shifts to a gentle right jab in the second, and grows from there to ultimately become a crushing hook that lands as a solid knockout blow.

Key to everything is Natalie Te Rehua (Te Ao O Hinepehinga), an aspiring dancer, who has inherited a serious heart condition. Natalie partners with haka queen Kruze Tangira (Tāwhai Pātai) intent on winning a $10,000 prize and together they chuckout the tried and true and devise a never-before-seen dance form – haka-fusion.

Belz uses Natalie’s potentially life-threatening physical issue to morph into addressing a whole range of societal and emotional issues and Hyperspace suddenly becomes more interesting, more serious and more enjoyable on a completely different level. This is what Belz’s play is ultimately about.

Natalie’s bestie Hiona (Mele Toli) provides her with some assured support and advice on occasions and her brother Sonny Te Rehua (Kauri Williams) some musical accompaniment before eventually securing Hiona’s hand in a hilarious proposal scene.

However, the firm hand of director Tainui Tukiwaho is everywhere in this production. He underscore’s the humour in Belz’s script and makes the most of the many idiomatic references before ensuring that it is about much more than mere comedy. Or music. Or dance for that matter. It is about whanau, care, love, responsibility and actualisation. In some ways it might even be likened to a coming of age play for gen-X.

His universally strong cast can both sing and dance. Standouts for me included Edward Clendon as a ganglingly awkward Jason and Pamela Sidhu as the contortionistic Crystal.

But it is the overall choreography of Jack Gray that both establishes and goes a long way towards sustaining Hyperspace. Jack has certainly ‘dusted off his old aerobic shoes’. Haka-fusion indeed!

Sure Natalie and Kruze don’t win the dance comp, and Kapa and Sonny’s wedding rather cutely rounds things out in a well-developed stage setting, but this work is about a whole lot of other stuff that ultimately opens windows to issues that have a contemporary relevance.

Without some clear pointers to cultural idiosyncrasy, this play is probably too parochial for international audiences but it’s not meant to be. So congratulations to ATC and Te Pou on an interesting and well-crafted collaboration for local consumption.