Review: FIGURES IN EXTINCTION at Sadler’s Wells

Figures in Extinction [1.0] was first presented to great acclaim at this venue back in 2022. In it, McBurney’s uncertain and disembodied voice asks how he should list the names of endangered species, or whether he should just begin with those already known to have gone extinct. And so begins the list with the dramatic and mesmerising entrance of a single dancer, his arms clad in the elongated horns of the Pyrenean Ibex a species which was declared lost in 2000.

Thereafter follow individuals, pairs, small groups, and sometimes the whole company, presenting as a pair of Spix’s Macaw, a Ghost Orchid, a herd of Dawson Caribou, a shoal of Smooth Handfish, and a host of other departed or critically endangered flora and fauna. Accompanied by McBurney’s dulcet and somber tone, the dancers create a visual and stylised representation for each subject — whether plant, animal, or even a glacier. Despite its beauty, knowing that the imagery is representative of something lost forever proves utterly heartbreaking. The dancers imbue each species with distinct and uniquely representative gestures and movements to bring it momentarily back to life, but as the list grows and is read progressively faster, the sheer scale of destruction, habitat loss and the impact of global warming feels overwhelming.

As if to give focus to our feelings of anger and helplessness, inserted into the mix are moments of black comedy in the form of a loud and self-assured, besuited, fidgety, hyper-animated, corporate, evangelical, climate change denier who spews forth his gasoline loving, barbecue-embracing doctrine of capitalist individuality and denigration of all scientific evidence as a mere big-Government hoax. His jittery diatribe is one of the highlights of the evening and reflective of Republican America’s fundamental refusal to accept the need for action as personified in the dinosaur rhetoric of the current occupant of the White House.

In Figures in Extinction [2.0], humanity is put under the spotlight and focuses on our need as individuals to feel connected with one another. What begins as a commentary on isolation in the age of the smartphone demonstrates that technological connectivity has resulted in a wholesale disconnect in terms of our ability to fully and truly interact with others of our species. It’s an oft-funny, but frequently damning piece of observation, but when the company fully engage and flow with each other, the effect and impact on our feeling of togetherness is profoundly moving and uplifting.

Finally, in Figures in Extinction [3.0] we open at a hospital bed over which a family discuss (or refute the need to discuss) arrangements for the imminent death of a loved one. The requiem includes the third movement of Mozart’s Requiem and explores our relationship with grief and all the dead who have passed before us.

Plays until Sat 8th Nov, and you are strongly urged to see this masterpiece at Sadler's Wells.