Review: "The Leg" Keeps Audiences on Their Toes

 The Leg

Conceived by Sophie Amieva and Katerina Marcelja

Directed by Sophie Amieva

Presented by notAmuse Theater at MITU580

May 23-June 7, 2025

Photo by Rebecca Marcela Oviatt (BECCAVISION) 
The Leg, the latest performance work by notAmuse Theater, is a captivating experience of an off-kilter world which may in fact be our own. The well-balanced ensemble of performers not only play off one another but contend with their costumes–some with exaggerated straitjacket sleeves or yards of tulle–and a space continually reshaped by the inflation/deflation of impressive fabric set pieces amongst and above them.
Photo by Rebecca Marcela Oviatt (BECCAVISION) 
notAmuse Theater (under the direction of Sophie Amieva and production designer Katerina Marcelja) integrates a range of theatrical traditions from Butoh to Buffon to create works which address structures of social and political power. The Leg (choreography by Mark Bankin, with lighting by Jacqueline Scaletta and sound design by Ryan Gamblin), continues this endeavor in this new 90-minute production at MITU580, the multi-use black box space in Gowanus.
Photo by Rebecca Marcela Oviatt (BECCAVISION) 
At the start you are ushered to your seat by two denizens of a world we will see is cracked, in which the rules are unstable. Identifiable as an angel and devil, each munching an apple, perhaps from Eden, they gesture and cajole. They seem to ask whether you, as an audience member, are an observer or an accomplice. Once the houselights are out, The Leg draws you in: you adjust to the dim lighting and the deep space before you. As the initially unhurried characters start to explore, time stretches, and you sink into this land. We learn about it as its creatures and characters, from the hyper-performative to the confused, find their way. The mesmerizing inflatables are treated as characters as well and meld into new ones with the performers (Bankin, Richard Desmond, Rina Dutta, Eilish Henderson, Tallie Medel, Nicolàs Noreña, and Eleanore Pienta). Throughout the work, powers change and alliances shift and shift again, mirroring the pacing and rhythm of the work. This piece plays with humor, delight, and the shock at finding, once again, that we must recalibrate. One soloist in white, eyes closed for the duration, is an additional layer: Are they oblivious to the chaos? Are they able to stay their course despite it? Is this safe? Is this their dream?

Photo by Rebecca Marcela Oviatt (BECCAVISION) 
The Leg challenges the viewer to engage with some discomfort, to dare to laugh, while offering ample sensory enchantment in the dynamic lighting, the costuming, and the soundscape–both scored and that of the fans inflating fabric. Performed boldly yet with much nuance, The Leg is continually captivating.

-Evangelia Antonakos

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