The Passion of Andrea 2 suggests a (non-existent) prequel. It also nods to that final period in Jesus’ life, when he rode into Jerusalem, was betrayed by Judas, shared a Last Supper, and was crucified, after which he descended into hell only to be resurrected. All this happens, and more, in Luxembourgish choreographer Simone Mousset’s bonkers but brilliant Passion Play.
The Arrival. Wearing wigs and wily moustaches, three Andreas (Lewys Holt, A de la Fe, and Bryn Thomas) suss out their surroundings with toe-taps and craned necks. As if they, like us, suddenly find themselves on another planet in a solar system of suspended beanbags. They greet one another, – ‘Andrea’, ‘Andrea’, ‘Andrea’ – until the stage is an echo chamber of self-affirmations.
The Betrayal. But surely there can be only one Andrea? Brandishing finger-guns, they start shooting each other in the back. The audience, split into three unequal groups, is enjoined to save their chosen Andrea, but our warning shouts amalgamate into a chorus of confusion.
The Supper. Then comes the Last Supper, a more sober affair. Together, the Andreas perform their ‘favourite trio’. Cleaner-than-clean lines meet with deep lunges on the diagonal, in a clear parody of contemporary dance. Now they do the ‘eagle lift’, and now de la Fe breaks out into ‘solo time’, where the exposition of their craft is not lost on us. Take, eat, of their bodies, Mousset seems to say.
The Crucifixion. The play turns dark(ish). Steadily, the ‘favourite trio’ falls apart as their finger-guns turn deadly, each Andrea taking turns to stage increasingly dramatic death sequences – limbs flailing and flailing until, just when you thought he’d danced his last dance, they flail yet again.
The Resurrection. Downstage left, one of the Andreas describes his miraculous rebirth, enacted by sound designer Alberto Ruiz Soler in a refreshingly pedestrian manner. Indeed, the play ends more deadpan than silly, and with more minor ‘Ummming’ and ‘Ahhhing’ than dancing. Still, I leave praying that one day I’ll see The Passion of Andrea 3.
