A funny, cruel exploration of the male psyche, Enter Achilles is set in a typical British pub, a shabby, nicotine-stained boozer. Pop songs tumble out of the jukebox, there is football on the TV, and the eight men lark around, pint glasses in hand. But their blokish fun is balanced on a knife-edge of tension, for beneath the mateyness lurks a disturbing undercurrent of paranoia and insecurity, where weakness is brutally exploited and violence covers up vulnerability. A whirling, spinning, switching, sensual interpretation of classic male body language is transformed into an hypnotic kind of dance.
Devised and developed by DV8's founder, Lloyd Newson, in collaboration with a company of eight male performers, the piece explores masculinity. Always exciting, and often controversial, the work of DV8 is about taking risks, both physically and aesthetically, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, about communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously.
Lloyd Newson, dancer and choreographer, came to England from Australia in 1980 to study at the London Contemporary Dance School. He originally became attracted to dance during his studies of psychology which is reflected in the topics of his productions. From 1981 to 1985 he danced and choreographed with the Extemporary Dance Theatre. In 1986 he cofounded DV8 Physical Dance Theatre.
Awards: Jury Prize Montreal Festival for Films on Art 1998, Emmy Award 1997, Performing Arts, New York, Golden Spire Performance Special, San Francisco Film Festival 1997, Prix du Ministre-Président First Screening Stage Arts Festival 1997, Brussells, Prix Italia Special Prize - Television, Music & Arts, 1996, Best Stage Performance Reworked for the Camera IMZ Dance Screen 1996, Special Prize 6th Golden Antenna Television Festival 1996
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