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Photograph by Richard Finkelstein
The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch’s famous 16th-century triptych of innocence, licentiousness, and perdition, is the kind of astonishingly detailed masterpiece you can get lost in—each panel is packed with so much extraordinary activity that it's a challenge to take it all in as a whole. Which is part of the reason why choreographer Martha Clarke's dance-theater interpretation of the painting is so compelling; by channeling the spirit of the painting into live performance, the audience can immerse itself in the overall essence of Bosch's startling vision.
Clarke's bold adaptation originally premiered in 1984, was re-staged again in 1987, and has now been brought to life a third time in New York City more than two decades later, in a sumptuous production that was nearly scuttled due to financial woes, according to this harrowing article in the Times. Thankfully, they came up with the money, because New Yorkers who missed it in the '80s deserve another chance to experience this transporting study of human glory and depravity. The hour-long, wordless performance isn't a literal recreation of the triptych (which would be silly), but rather a ritualistic celebration of eros and suffering.
As three musicians in dark cowls perform Richard Peaslee's clattering, dizzying score, an ensemble of eleven dancers in flesh-tone unitards writhe, bound and crawl around the stage to evoke a world as grotesque, sensual and fantastic as that depicted in painting. Periodically, the dancers soar through the shadowy air using harnesses attached to a system of pulleys, and seeing the mechanics of their flight only heightens the drama, because the dancer in the air is intimately connected to his or her partner on stage pulling the rope, making the bond between them almost palpable. Clarke's vision, like Bosch's painting, is at once grotesque and sublime, but the fearless trust shared by the ensemble lends the work an ultimately life-affirming energy.
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I am furious after attending this show tonight. This was supposed to be a wonderful night with my best friend. I was taking her to see this show as a Christmas present. Everything was fine, and the actual performance was very good, up until I got up to use the restroom. Upon returning upstairs to reenter the theatre, I was told that I was not allowed back in. At first I thought this was some kind of joke. What kind of establishment doesn't allow patrons back into the theatre to see the show they paid to see? I was told it would be a "distraction" and that there had been an announcement about this before the show. There was absolutely no announcement. I arrived at least 10 minutes before the performance started and did not hear anything about not being allowed back into the theatre. The man actually physically blocked the door and would not let me open it. Because of this I missed the last 10 minutes and the conclusion of the performance.
I had a very heated argument with the theatre manager after I retrieved my belongings from inside the theatre. He insisted that there had been an announcement. Why would I have left then? Why did there have to be someone there to tell me I couldn't reenter if I should have already known? I wish I could give this show a good review. But I am so angry I can't. I am absolutely furious that my night was ruined. I will NEVER visit Minetta theatre again.