Deutsche Oper, Berlin
July 6, 2025
Seeing NDT is always a sublime experience. For Figures in Extinction, Crystal Pite and theatre company Complicité’s artistic director Simon McBurney worked with the world-class dancers of NDT1 on very special challenges that speak about real, urgent, worrying and dramatic themes, realised through a combination of danced poetry and beauty.
Figures in Extinction is a tryptic work comprising: the list (2022), which focuses on the loss of animals and plants and the repercussions of human behaviour on natural phenomena; but then you come to the humans (2024), which tackles the disconnection that humans have from themselves and others in particularly brilliant and thought provoking choreography; and the latest creation, requiem, which looks at the distance, discomfort and negation that many in the western world feel regarding death, and the presence of those who have departed.
Photo Rahi Rezvani
The first, the list, literally lists by name many of the species that have become extinct on a screen above the stage. Below, one or more dancers embody some of them with perfectly sculpted and highly expressive bodies.
Pite’s signature is instantly recognisable in the organic and repeated movement, at times intricate and visually powerful, at times simpler. Similarly, the soundtrack, which runs from an original composition by Owen Belton with additional sound design by Benjamin Grant, to music that is popular yet beautifully melodic and soothing, including ‘Normal Song’ by Perfume Genius and ‘Aké’ by Blick Bassy. The attractive beauty and perfection of the ensemble is enveloped by the Tom Visser’s sophisticated light design.
Particularly striking was dancer Jon Bond, who spoke impressively with his body while lip-syncing a monologue of a fervent denier of climate change, subtly evoking the United States president and his convictions.
Watching, I wondered how many of those present at the performance were really touched by the saddening and alarming scenario of extinction, and how many are actively doing something to arrest the ongoing process. Moreover, I couldn’t help but also think of the annihilation of human tribes and communities, in the past and today, planned or as a consequence, including the present situation in Palestine. What is happening is a real tragedy and although Figures in Extinction won’t do anything for those who really need help, it definitely sheds a light on the dire and grim scenario of extinction in a very clear, direct and didactic way. Hopefully such an appeal will foster more sensibility, empathy and awareness, and ignite the desire to change.
The second piece, but then you come to the humans, focuses on humans‘ dehumanisation. Brilliantly developed and superbly executed, it’s full of rich, strong images based on factual realities, the stage acting as a mirror to what is happening in the streets.
Photo Rahi Rezvani
It’s a wakeup call, a piece that brings people to see their own behaviours and possibly reflect on them. It is again didactic but this time more as a soft parody. That technology, the mobile phone in particular, have become appendages for all or most of us, is a given fact, but how we use it is still in our power. The message of but then you come to the humans appears to be the importance of observing our own behaviours, to be more aware of how much digitalisation, phones, internet and so on, despite everything they offer, can play against us. How it can disconnect us from ourselves, from our needs, from our truth and authenticity; from everyone and everything around us.
Is there a way to change this trend? Are we able and willing to re-humanise ourselves? Essential questions arise and float in the peril of the lost society we navigate in. The music, original compositions by Benjamin Grant that includes extracts of old classical and contemporary neoclassical pieces interrupted intermittently by sudden thundering sounds creating disturbance and unease, supports the dance well invoking many emotions.
Finally, requiem is dedicated to death and the relationship with the ones who have departed. In western world, death is commonly seen as something to bury, both emotionally and figuratively, and to move on from. It’s something to avoid thinking about, most probably as a way to cope with its piercing and debilitating pain.
Photo Rahi Rezvani
However, it’s only when fully lived, faced and processed over time with spirituality, ceremonies and internally, that death becomes an integral part of life. Time to meet and soothe the pain is needed.
Everyone has their own beliefs and hopes about death and about the ones who have gone beyond. The piece seems to ask how they are still with us, suggesting very much that they are. In a dynamic, encyclopaedic and very explicit scenario, Pite and McBurney invite the viewer to reflect on the way death is perceived and faced. What is the level of recognition about it? What is does acceptance of and openness to the presence of the departed ones means? How does their ongoing existence live with and within us. No answers but lots of food for thought.
As a whole, the three parts of Figures in Extinction merge into a hymn and a plea to be present and aware; to be far-sighted; to be accountable; to be respectful of who and what surrounds us; to be loving, caring, compassionate and empathetic; to think of the repercussions of what we do. It reminds us that we should fight for freedom and justice not only for our species and communities but for others who need it; and, finally, to choose to be good humans. We have been endowed with the free will to be so.