Moussoux Bonté, Twin Houses

Review in Issue 8-1 | Spring 1996

The return of Moussoux Bonté's Twin Houses to the Mime Festival was nothing short of a theatrical delight. The audience was taken on a disturbing journey that explored the human psyche in its most fragmented state. Moussoux manipulated life-size mannequins, whose bodies and costumes appeared to blend into her own. These alter egos dominated and initiated the action, while Moussoux herself remained impassive. The bare, dimly lit stage drew the audience into her chamber of tortured souls which was set to the menacing sounds of electronic music. Ranging from ethereal to staccato, its rhythms worked hand in glove with the movements and helped to reveal the moments of humour that lie beneath the surface in all the struggles for power. The piece opened with an austere teacher supervising the nervous white-faced Moussoux. With her right arm making the spiky, commanding gestures of the teacher and her left arm playing the part of the intimidating pupil, it was easy to forget who was in control as the dominating figure loomed above. The simultaneous portrayal of such contrasting and extreme physical characteristics was fascinating to watch. As she wrestled with her Doppelganger for control, Moussoux manipulated the figure with her foot; she struggled with the fear of death, as a bustling figure appeared in mourning veils; she celebrated sexuality as the mannequin revealed her suspenders; she joined the primal male and female sides of our psyche as the lovers caressed; she explored the darker side of human nature as the woman in black cast her dangerous spells; and finally Moussoux was left alone, the shattered human ego, whose last dance was that of a mannequin. We were left to face our own schizophrenic fallibility. Twin Houses resonated on a profound level and expressed the conflicts that are at the core of existence.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Jan 1996

This article in the magazine

Issue 8-1
p. 19