A Couple of Humans

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Every year we at Darkchat spend hours choosing what to see, looking through the brochure and online and taking requests from shows to see, we then put them into some kind of schedule, as any Edinburgh regular will know it’s never easy.

Occasionally a show will fall out of the schedule or cancel and this was the case this year so it was with time to spare at Summerhall we headed to see ‘A Couple of Humans’, a piece from the Start to Finnish Showcase and Tsuumi Dance Theatre from Finland.

It begins with two performers, Riikka and Antti Puumalainen, sat front and centre welcoming you into the room who then strip and dress from head to toe into a number of pairs of tights and are immediately underway.

The piece is listed as both physical theatre and dance within the programme but falls mostly into the former, if you’re looking for out and out dance you’re not going to find it here, whilst the movement is impressive there is little in the way of anything one might consider traditional (or modern) dance.  The sound at times is a little too intrusive, loud and repetitive and the visuals on the large screen don’t fit with the rest of the performance leaving the different elements feeling somewhat disjointed.

If you’re looking for a show to fill a gap in your schedule there may be better dance shows out there to choose.