Aurora: A Modern Myth – trippy story of one woman’s rage against the mining machine (Prime Cut in The MAC as part of Belfast International Arts Festival) #BIAF24

Cass has a strong connection to the land, and one tree in particular that gives her strength. A mining company want to exploit the gold that’s been discovered in the area. They lack the rights to the land on which her tree stands. Cass has planned a one-woman live-streamed protest, chaining herself to the trunk. Her catastrophising friend Drew offers support. Then her brother Conn turns up running PR for the aptly named mining company (say ‘Golden Shire’ in a thick country accent and you’ll get the sense of domination at play).

Aurora: A Modern Myth is a story about valuing nature over profit, about one person taking a stand to make a difference, and about the powerful institutions that can crush rebellion.

The cast’s performances are very strong. Meghan Tyler narrates the story, talking into the invisible live-streaming camera that sits with the audience. While the first few minutes of the performance are physically very static, Cass’s commitment to the venture shines through Tyler’s gifted and intense storytelling. Less is more, and director Emma Jordan uses every gesture, every laugh, every eyeroll to enchant and draw the audience in.

Dominic Montague’s play flits between two timelines: the site of Cass’s ongoing protest, and her detention after her protest and an ensuing riot has been broken up by ‘authorities’. Maria Connolly appears on screen as the brilliantly stern and callous interrogator trying to prove Cass’s role in the melee and the subsequent disappearance of a large amount of gold. The black and white capture and tight facial shot of her off-stage delivery is very effective.

Brother Conn (Conor O Donnell) is the character who must switch sides. Corporate lackey making excuses for the mining company at the start (replete with golden yellow tie); fervent supporter of Cass by the end. Drew (Thomas Finnegan) is a steady influence, until the lad loses his cool in a later scene and unexpectedly turns into a raving shaman.

Connolly’s second role steals scenes as a talking anarcho-communist badger. Prime Cut have worked with Ulster University to explore how animation can integrate with theatre. The results are mixed, and the production is somewhat compromised to support the experiment.

The use of gaming technology like Unreal Engine to drive video backdrops in real-time is becoming commonplace in UK touring productions. The Belfast Ensemble used other techniques to brilliantly flood The MAC’s main theatre with projection in their recent restaging of The Doppler Effect.

Ciaran Bagnall’s set consists of a stylised tree and a white box atop a neutral carpet, a canvas onto which projections are mapped. The precision is remarkable, but the graphics don’t consistently excite the imagination. While I was expecting to see squirrels darting about the branches or crows ominously staring down at the humans below, instead any movement was less flashily focussed on the tree sap and the underground gold.

The sweary and spiky badger lip-syncs with Connolly’s live speech – a good technology demonstration – but between the rendering and the projection, the appearance of the animal is quite blurry. With the important surfaces of the set needing to face the front-mounted projectors, the overall effect is to flatten the stage and the blocking, removing the opportunity for more dynamic angles.

The next generation of video and theatre technology will take some time to bed in. Experiments like Aurora are important steps in isolating what works, and in which situations. The actor-linked elements are strong (the remote interrogator and the cute badger) and can be built upon. Perhaps more can be done to mature the tree into a full character rather than a prop.

Katie Richardson’s richly layered soundtrack endures throughout the performance and helps delineate the mood-swings between scenes. Ditching the interval and running straight through for 90 minutes was a good decision that prevents audiences needing to overcome inertia to re-enter the imaginary world after a bar break. Rosie McClelland’s costume choices are sympathetic to the constant projection and are boldly tweaked for the final scenes.

Favourite lines from the sparky dialogue include “Strong password, my hole!”, “Lakes don’t have rights / Hhave you seen the state of Lough Neagh?”, and the catchphrase “Badger, out”.

There’s a strong sense (sadly unseen) of young people uniting to share their wealth and their stories to encourage Cass and help her secure the title to the land over the heads of older capitalist adults. There’s a desire to protect the future, and play a small part in a larger, eternal story. And there’s much (re)connecting with nature.

As ‘modern myths’ go, it’s quite trippy. But the lack of sufficient dramatic tension or sustained peril makes Aurora feel like a play that in its current facile form is designed to be a conversation starter rather than the full destination. Aurora: A Modern Myth continues at The MAC until 2 November as part of Belfast International Arts Festival.

Photo credits: Ciaran Bagnall

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