Musical of the Third Age

Photo: Jiri Sediak

= BodyVoiceBand (Prague) gives us a fine piece of dance theatre in its study of senior citizens, Musical of the Third Age. It uses young dancers - it needs young dancers - and, with a single exception, young singer/musicians to study the challenges facing those of us with decades behind us.

The show’s meticulous, straightforward direction is by Jaroslava Siktancova. There are eight in this first-rate band (accordion; flute; clarinet; violin; bass; drum; guitar; keyboard), on a platform upstage, as well as a singer. The six dancers (one man is also a solo singer) are wonderful as well, working with Eliska Vavrikova’s jazzy choreography, which is so precise that when we see bamboo canes fall on stage we feel that they must scatter in the same pattern at each performance. If it’s unclear how some of the dance relates to the theme, we don’t care. This examination of aging is subtle and complex.

We find a real understanding of late age here. The songs’ lyrics are lovely and thoughtful:

The bald-headed Bogey 
Likes to be cuddled
When you’re not in the mood
He’ll hold it against you.

Beautiful and tender 
With smooth flowing hair
So full of dreams
And so full of love.

Theres a really cool moment near the end of the show’s hour when the dancers’ footprints are left on the stage. And in one of the show’s most interesting moments, there’s a call-and-response song between the singer and the dancers who are singing as well. At the coda the audiences dances with the dancers - or one another. 

Musical of the Third Age is terrific work, but it’s unfortunate that the play ends with pessimism:

The only pump
You’ll find in the desert
Is my heart
Desperately empty.

review
Steve Capra
September 2019
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