King
choreography, direction: Shaun Parker
composer, songwriter: Ivo Dimchev
dramaturgy: Veronica Neave
lighting design: Benjamin Brockman
horticultural consultant, jungle design: Penny Hunstead
artists: Alex Abbot, Samuel Beazley, Ivo Dimchev, Joel Fenton, Harrison Hall, Romain Hassanin, Libby Montilla, Malachi Sylvester, Kai Taberner, Robert Tinning
duration: 75’
premiere: Seymour Centre, Sydney, 2019.
note: production contains nudity and theatrical haze
A new collaboration between award winning director and choreographer Shaun Parker and internationally renowned Bulgarian-born songwriter and vocalist Ivo Dimchev, throws masculinity into the spotlight. Set in a theatrical world that is part cocktail lounge, part jungle, “King” interrogates the notion of male power, control and group dynamics amongst men. Over 70 minutes the gestures and fault lines of macho behavior are played out, scored with humor and tenderness by Dimchev’s live song cycle. From laddish pranks to violent annihilation, from bravado and bullying to attempts at loving kindness, we see the extremes of what a so-called “man’s world” has been, and are invited to consider its all too often brutal consequences.
Shaun Parker & Company is an exhilarating and bold Australian dance company that has exploded onto the international dance scene. It creates critically acclaimed dance productions, which are renowned for their integration of stimulating choreographic forms, arresting musical scores and theatrical invention. The company was founded in 2010 by award winning choreographer Shaun Parker. Based in Sydney, the company has toured across Australia and internationally to Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, Serbia (Belgrade Dance Festival), Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, USA and the UK. The company has won many prestigious Australian and international awards.
…you could not get enough … Delightful provocation, raging applause.
© Volksblatt, Austria
...this is a dense and richly layered work that keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very end.
© Dance Australia
If you want to be blown away by a choreographic language as gutsy and heart wrenching as Shakespeare’s poetry, don’t miss “King” by Shaun Parker and Company.
© Sydney Arts Guide
In the current environment of changing patriarchal structures, "KING" is a must see.
© Fjord Review
This is not just a 70-minute dance performance! The music and movement are seamless, and Dimchev’s original composition is both melodic, piercing, and deeply powerful.
© Luxembourg Times
