Hold your horses, here you will only find the concept of a horse. Or maybe our imaginations are just suggesting a horse? Or is it the punny wordplay of a wooden “horse” trestle? But really, it’s not about the horse at all—it’s about how nothing is anything and everything is something. (MDF) Medium Density Fantasy is a fever dream about the levels of fictionalisation present in our everyday lives, including our representations of self and the ways we choose to ‘market’ ourselves. This contemporary take on René Magritte-coded surrealism is made great because of the witty, creative repartee between Rose Philpott and Jessie McCall.

Their shared artistic endeavour, Soft.co, has allowed them to develop a depth in their work that is often missing in the quick one-and-done attitude of Auckland contemporary dance. This new development was littered with references to their previous works. It fits into similar creative ideas and artistic tone, yet is anything but stale. Their familiarity with each other as performers and creatives forms an easy shared language that articulates complex ideas with a keen satirical intellect. The artistic quality is not lost on the audience of this sold-out show, or the many disappointed faces who did not secure tickets, or the high demand for their other works, solo and otherwise. This show proves that there are creative models that can produce thoughtful and innovative work despite the desert-dry funding landscape and artistic brain-drain to greener pastures.

The full house enters the theatre to sit at the feet of a large image of the two artists on a horse. Lit well by designer Elekis Poblete-Tierney, the image casts a menacing X on the floor. The lights fade and music builds over five or maybe fifty minutes (it’s easy to lose track as the slow shift stretches and manipulates our perception of time). Darkness settles, and the anticipatory audience waits for the performers to appear. We are thrown off guard when the house doors open and blue light from the Basement bar floods into the pitch-black room, lively jazz bouncing in after. The first few audience members trepidatiously defy the expectations of a traditional proscenium when they venture out of the theatre towards the light.

The bar is retrofitted with blue LEDs, the furniture is gone, and new photos of the performers riding horses decorate the walls. The Basement has been transformed, or maybe we were the ones transformed, or maybe we are in the Basement, but the Basement was just a fiction of our imagination to begin with? Here, the sold-out audience feels overpacked and restricts the freedom of exploring the space without the hassle of stepping on toes. It limits the intimacy and impact of watching the performers hilariously turn boxed wine into a carbonated delicacy and inhibits the attempts of two male servers (who I am almost sure are Philpott and McCall’s brothers, representing a meta mirror image of the artists themselves) to circulate the neo-wine-drink. Oh, for shame, the tragedy of popularity. While this section served its purpose by disorienting the audience and establishing key messaging, its slower, repetitive pacing did not suit the packed space and could have come across better in a cozier environment.

The performers disappear and the theatre doors open once again. The audience returns to find the two performers arranged in a Washington-crossing-the-Delaware style tableau with a wooden “horse” trestle suspended between their legs. They stand in the same orientation as the opening image of them on a horse. A meaningful parallel that sets up the true heart of the work. This second, or maybe third, beginning is a “proclamation without making a proclamation”, a statement about statements without making a statement. This is then explored in detail as the dancer’s gallop, play with wood, let the audience play with wood, further exploring, through movement, what it means to represent the world with art. The show concludes with an abstracted voiceover detailing a conversation between the two artists. In the back and forth, you can hear how their camaraderie shapes ideas and artistic decisions, how they interpret each other’s input, and create together a stunning work of performance art with conceptual depth and humour. This show deserves more than one night, and I am looking forward to catching its next run.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer