Cremorne Theatre, QPAC
October 12, 2018

Natalie Weir’s final work as Artistic Director of Expressions Dance Company, Everyday Requiem, is an incredibly poignant and resonant piece that explores all the joy, grief, conflict, and nostalgia of one ordinary man’s life.

The Old Man, performed with great tenderness and gravitas by guest artist Brian Lucas, reflects on the important events and relationships of his life as he celebrates his seventieth birthday. The EDC ensemble dancers perform scenes from his life, including the glow and heartbreak of a first love, difficult family relationships, the loss of a loved one, a wedding day, and the birth of a child. Lucas occasionally interacts with his past selves, and sometimes the audience are also shown things outside the scope of his memory, such as his wife’s grief when he leaves for war and the developing bond between his wife and infant daughter while he is deployed.

Brian Lucas. Photo © David Kelly 

Everyday Requiem is a collaboration with The Australian Voices, who perform Gordon Hamilton’s original score a capella while also engaging with the dancers onstage. There is something uniquely raw about hearing the voices live and without instrumental accompaniment....