Undisciplined Festival: Queer Fury and Resistance in ‘In Realness’

Image: In Realness by Dam Van Huynh, performed by Tommaso Petrolo | Photographer: Holly Revel

In Realness, as the title suggests, presents an uncompromising self. Both its Vietnamese choreographer, Dam Van Huynh, and its solo performer, Tommaso Petrolo, explore their queer identities in the process of making In Realness, and the result is a furious protest against political control and ineffective governments.

The work dips in and out of improvisation, set movement and spoken word, drawing on words by non-binary artist Alok Vaid-Menon, writers Audre Lorde, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and punk rock group Pussy Riot. Petrolo shouts verses out at the audience, words sometimes warping, evolving or reducing. “What does it mean to be man enough or enough?” breaks down to “Enough. Enough. Enough…” Enough of control, enough of not being enough. Frustration exudes through Petrolo’s body as In Realness goes on. Shaking, stretching limbs respond to the words chucked out into the air. At times, the relationship between spoken word and body is powerful, in other moments it is convoluted and hard to follow. But with improvisation a key part of In Realness, I can’t help but wonder if this is the point. Identities are messy. Bodies are messy. Nothing about In Realness is tidy or crystal clear, but a chaotic examination of bodily identity. Improvised sections lend to a state of truthful being, realness, and consist of some of the most memorable material.

Dragging a tyre across the stage, the only prop in a blue-lit expanse, a mash of wild impulse versus control grips Petrolo. His legs bend, yielding to an unseen oppressive weight. One moment, he throws his weight around, unpredictable. By the end of the section, he circles the stage, holding the tyre up as if in curiosity. He turns slowly, and the sound of blurred words to electronic hum fills the space. As he stands staring ahead with the tyre on his shoulders framing his head, defiance asserts itself on his momentarily still body. In Realness is filled with reverberating resistance, its music and voice unapologetically loud, but its quietness is just as steely. Kicking back against the stereotypical quiet Asian persona, the work refuses to take on a sedate and obedient character.

Image: In Realness by Dam Van Huynh, performed by Tommaso Petrolo | Photographer: Holly Revel

Despite being distinctly unique, In Realness throws up as many questions as what it tries to answer. Heaviness and fury streams through Petrolo’s body throughout the work, but there is something missing. In words, the connection between sexuality and politics is unquestionable. Words imply the metaphorical replacement of sexual organs with nuclear weapons and political tools, resisted by Van Huynh and by extension Petrolo as he undulates his torso and pelvis, or spanks himself in assertion of his physical sexuality. The message, however, is occasionally lost in its transfer to the body. When Petrolo sinks into the splits to a round of pre-recorded applause for example, performative facades comes to mind, but this particular display of virtuosity feels incongruous. Overall, In Realness offers an honest criticism of political bodies and ideologies, expressed in raging queer physicality. Its insistent shouts command your attention, and Petrolo’s movement journeys are equally arresting.

***

You can catch more events at Brighton's Undisciplined Festival until 20th March. Find further information on South East Dance: https://southeastdance.org.uk/whats_on/undisciplined-2025/