Yukiko Masui: Ronin review
Fantastical anime world springs to life, thanks to smart video projections and kick-ass swordplay
Yukiko Masui’s show goes big on spectacle – and in many ways, it’s clever stuff. The bare stage is transformed into an ever-evolving world by the digital projection artist Barret Hodgson: all three white walls and the floor are alive with movement as rainstorms lash down (and then up), bamboo forests bloom with psychedelic flowers, sparklers and neon pixie dust, and a total eclipse marries a highly detailed moon and a fire-spitting sun.
Anime and video gaming are key influences: it also reminds you of those immersive art exhibitions so much loved in Korea, and drawing the crowds to Outernet and Frameless in London.
The projection mapping is choreographed with the dancers, too – their steps are charted by bars of light, their pulses of energy are matched by morphing geometric shapes, a sword swipe draws a line of fire down the floor. It’s so visually rich, in fact, that even Masui seems to have been dazzled by it, and forgotten that the piece really could do with a coherent through-line.
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Instead, we are presented with Cher Nicolette Ho as a female ronin – a masterless samurai (and yes, there were female samurai warriors in feudal Japan) – who traverses this strange land and encounters two other travellers (Jacob Lang and Nathan Bartman), who switch, confusingly, between being adversaries, companions and brothers in arms. If they’re on a quest, it remains a decidedly opaque one.
You may, therefore, find yourself feeling increasingly confused as the settings swirl before your eyes (how the dancers don’t get motion sickness is a source of wonder), and a tight and energised first half gives way to a meandering second half that doesn’t seem to know what to do with these characters.
On the plus side, there’s some great martial-arts choreography and swordplay. For this, Masui, born and brought up in Tokyo, draws on her own previous kendo training and her sword teacher Kashmir Leese’s expertise as her “sword and stunt specialist”. Fights are presented as duets; highly stylised poses come straight from the anime playbook; blades twirl and slash.
Masui knows how to make effective use of slow-mo and freeze frame moments, and her three dancers work incredibly hard to maintain the precision needed. Ho’s meticulous hand placements and delicately furling fingers, even in the heat of combat, are delightful to watch, and she handles her sword with aplomb. In a moment when the bass-heavy EDM soundtrack is replaced with silence and Ho takes on invisible opponents in an extended solo, we even get to hear the satisfying whistle of her blade through air. It would still be nice to have an actual discernible story, but the work delivers as a visual treat.
For full touring dates, visit: theplace.org.uk
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