Direction and Performed by Tess Letham
Review by Marina Funcasta
Tess Letham captures something in what ever happened to Harmony Banks which feels almost eerily of the moment. Indulging in slow sequences, Letham transforms into an AI-inspired extra-terrestrial, mastering a vacant, automaton gaze. Deeply unsettling at points, we are made to witness the rise and fall of Harmony Banks in her fifty-minute stab at the spotlight. What emerges is over as soon as it begins.
Alone on stage, the forces that shape Harmony Banks’ alter ego are intangible; instead, we see as Letham’s body and voice tonally and literally bend to the music. A dance performance patched with scenes from a documentary, we receive projections of Letham’s mouth and face during the performance. The effect of this is jarring: confronted by her real and digital self, the power of the camera is unstoppable.
The camera, the public, the perceiver. We are all complicit in the construction of Harmony Banks. This is made aboundingly clear by Letham’s inclusion of audience participation, bridged by filmmaker and supporting performer Lucas Kao. And if we are complicit in the moulding of her personality, then surely we are complicit in her downfall?
Letham evades directly answering this question. Instead, after an hour of underscoring how different her character is to the average person, we receive a video of the child behind the woman behind the brand. And she is unrecognisable.
Is this a show about empathy? Is this a show which underlines our responsibility when it comes to the breakdown of our Internet icons and online personalities? I’m not sure. I left the performance feeling torn; torn as to whether feel second-hand cringe from the tragedy, or admiration for the performance more widely, one which I would say reaches near epic proportions. The rise and fall of the modern hero that is Harmony Banks.
Near Epic Proportions
Whatever Happened to Harmony Banks? runs at Assembly @ Dancebase
Running time: Forty-five minutes without interval
Review by Marina Funcasta (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Marina is halfway through an English literature degree at Edinburgh University, wherein she has been (considerably) involved in the drama scene: enjoying performing with their Shakespeare Company shows, but also modern takes on Arthur Miller. However, Marina’s interests are wide-ranging under the theatre genre – enjoying abstract, more contemporary takes on shows (with a keen interest in Summerhall)
