Without Stars | There We Have Been

Photo: Benedict Johnson

Taking inspiration from Japanese author Haruki Murakami’s best-selling novel Norwegian Wood, James Cousins has created a double bill of epic proportions that remains accessible whether or not you are familiar with the book, or even with contemporary dance.  

Without Stars begins with three dancers (Gareth Mole, Chihiro Kawasaki and Albert Garcia) performing so close together they are almost on top of each other, playfully twisting and turning, teasing, ducking and weaving. Then things start to change; their movement becomes more frantic; tension builds. All at once, the stage turns black and both Garcia and Kawasaki are gone.  

Mole, the protagonist, sits hunched on the floor, smoking a cigarette. The Mills Brothers singing You Always Hurt The Ones You Love fades up - you might know it as Ryan Gosling’s ditty in Blue Valentine - and Kawasaki returns to Mole for a romantic duet. But a troubling presence (Georges Hann) lurks in the shadows creating a feeling of unease.  

Once again, Kawasaki is enveloped by the darkness and Mole is back on the floor, cigarette in hand. The music, previously full and melodic, becomes cracked and tinny, as though coming from an old radio, and the warmth provided by soft spotlighting turns cold and grey. The moment was just a fleeting memory.  

Later, we see Garcia return to entice Mole away from his troubled girlfriend for an evening of fun. They jostle and play fight, tease and chase each other and The Black Keys’ Busted helps to lift the mood temporarily. Of the complicated web of relationships, this is the one I found most interesting. In the book, Garcia’s character is a girl. But here, Cousins has chosen a male to distract Mole. Their duets are ambiguous but suggest there may be more to this relationship than purely a friendship.  

At home, Kawasaki is haunted by Hann’s dark figure. When Mole returns, she is close to breaking point and her coldness towards him is palpable. In one of the most moving sequences of dance I have seen, she repeatedly pulls away as he tries to comfort her. He won’t leave her.  Their movement becomes frenzied as she pushes against him and he tries to calm her. Finally, he catches and holds her tight, both of them exhausted, as she succumbs and sobs openly into his arms.  

Not ending here, the piece continues to push and pull the characters to further extremes, their turmoil slowly escalating throughout the 40-minute duration. Henri Mancini’s 'Dear Heart' – a reference from the book – makes its way into the score and gradually, for those unfamiliar with Murakami’s novel, the realisation of what the characters represent dawns.  

Following a short interval, I was intrigued to see how There We Have Been would be different. This was a duet performed with extraordinary stamina and strength by Hann and Kawasaki. Starting elevated in the darkness, Kawasaki slowly sinks into the arms of Hann who is holding her there, and a soft spotlight follows them as they move across the stage. For the entire seventeen-minute duration, her feet never once touch the floor. She is completely dependent on him and this snapshot into her world adds an extra layer to Without Stars. Although they sit comfortably as separate works, together they offer two unique perspectives on the heartbreakingly complex relationships of four young people.  

All four dancers were outstanding , the score, including original music by Seymour Milton, was beautiful, and James Cousins’ choreographic mastery is of a standard far beyond what you might expect from someone of his age or experience.  

Winner of the first New Adventures Choreographer award in 2012, Cousins has been hailed by the esteemed director of that company, Matthew Bourne (all-male Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands and many more), as ‘one of the UK’s most promising choreographic talents’.  

James Cousins is a name to remember and I will be first in line for tickets should he bring either these or any future works to Nottingham.  

James Cousins Dance Company performed at Lakeside Arts Theatre on Tuesday 30 September 2014.