Easter-Anzac themes in Co3’s Gloria at His Majesty’s Theatre with NZ Dance Company, WASO, St George’s Consort

Themes of sacrifice and glory suffused a trans-Tasman tour de force by The New Zealand Dance Company and Perth’s Co3 Contemporary Dance Australia in an apt prelude to Easter and Anzac Day at His Majesty’s Theatre this week. A tribute to late Kiwi choreographer Douglas Wright was a leitmotif, as was a farewell to departing Co3 artistic director Raewyn Hill. Each enhanced the ambience of Lament; Moss Te Ururangi Patterson’s poignant meditation on the Maori Land Wars of the 1860s. Darkly resonant bass and percussion launched a flurry of frenzied figures shrouded in mist as though fog and friction of war informed Haka-like routines; the vigorous ritual of NZDC’s homeland tinged by wistful reflection in balletic solo and ensemble work to composer Shayne P. Carter’s take on a traditional dirge. Costumes by Chantelle Gerrard reflected the faded canvas of early settler style, with subdued lighting (Mark Haslam) casting a sepia-tint luminescence. Renewed vigour in music and movement relit the martial fuse in tumbling, stumbling steps riven with anguish, bolstered by full-bodied gestures to channel aggression and its fallout, chaos and pathos; fading at last to loss and regret. Picking up the rueful mood, Arvo Part’s translucent, insistent Tabula Rasa sustained Hill’s A Moving Portrait; a portrait of frail age gently enacted by a quintet of Co3 artists clad in sepulchral white. Limbs entwined to form an undulating mass, swaying to the soundtrack recorded by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, before unwinding then recombining like clouds in a cooling breeze. Hints of lace and colour in Akira Isogawa’s costumes suggested faded glories now subsumed in collective decline. Yet the bodies beneath the diaphanous robes were lithe and supple. If this were to be Hill’s swansong, her dying swans still held sway with charm and grace; fading at last with Part’s beat to a mesmeric funereal cadence over solemn strings. After the break, both dance companies combined with WA Symphony Orchestra and St George’s Cathedral Consort in the headline work, Gloria; Wright’s take on a central piece of the Mass that is traditionally held back during Lent yet appeared before Easter here in a fanfare of theatrical fervour. Arms raised as if in silent prayer, a septet of dancers prefaced the action before Vivaldi’s bright Baroque score pealed out from the orchestra pit under Joseph Nolan’s baton. Choristers proclaimed “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest) as fleeting rushes across the stage fell back to one dancer, then none. A slow procession paired with child-like capers mimicked the intonation of “Et in terra pax” (And peace on earth) over playful arpeggios in the orchestration. Pastoral themes then ushered in folkloric dance measures and soaring female vocals for “Laudamus te” (We praise you); the first of successive highlights from sopranos Bonnie de la Hunty and Lucinda Nicholls with altos Amber Lister and Anita Saxby. “Gratimus agimus tibi” (We give you thanks) brought renewed drama and vigour in action and sound before a lilting violin led in gentle vocals and a half-lit tableau for “Domine Deus, Rex coelestis” (Lord God, King of heaven), folding back to a lone figure gently gyrating through to the conclusion. Ensemble moves offered a vision of joyful devotion in “Domine Fili unigenite” (Lord the only begotten Son), fading under dying light to “Domine Deus, Agnus Dei” (Lord God, Lamb of God), a solemn alto lament echoed by cello and woodwind as a tortured duo seemed to act out the agony of crucifixion; a crisis of faith pitting humanity against God. Struggle resolved to a choral refrain of “Qui tollis peccata mundi” (Who takes away the sin of the world) and a Pieta-like reconciliation as one artist carried the other into the shadows. Eight dancers then filled the stage for “Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris” (Who sits at the right hand of God), pulsing to the music with athletic prowess before joining a celebratory circle for “Quoniam to solus sanctus” (For you alone are holy). Finally, “Gloria” rang out again to burnished brass and a rich choral intonation of “Amen” as one lone dancer hovered above the stage; poised between heaven and earth. Raewyn Hill will step down in December after 12 years as inaugural artistic director of Co3. She will continue planning of the 2027 season during the search for her replacement.