Jocelyn Hng

EURYDICE for Drama (the Fantastical):

Eurydice appears in a white gown and beneath is a cage-like frame, only revealed in her transformation. The frame hinders free movement hence subjects the body to challenging physical efforts. Eurydice in the story is passive and muse-like which makes it important to address loss and a sense of impossibility through the figure’s motions. The figure falls and emerges in a shroud of white. This emulates her veil but is also a final powerlessness in the fate of her death and a component of the motivation for the backward glance. The inside of the gown folds out revealing wing-like flaps and bears hanging bulbs. These elements augment the movements and carry a feeling of foreboding as they move with rhythmic indifference, alienated from the body. The figure is dressed in translucent or reflective material to reflect back the colours and lighting of the set. Washed in a limited palette of introspective blue and a vivid pink, it’s a visual externalisation of love, tenderness and polarity. These colours feel heightened and signal a dream-like or supernatural place. And perhaps what makes this story uniquely powerful is the juxtaposition between the weight of the real and the sacred mystery beyond human comprehension.