In the end, it’s all about the music
'Mosh' was written and directed by Rachel Ní Bhraonáin
I met two people today who had been to the MOSH pit and were terrified by the experience.
One skirted the edge and fled in terror; the other got kicked in the head and thought she might actually die in the pit.
I’m given two ear plugs to cope with the deafening beat of a heavy metal twosome of guitar and drums on the Garter Lane stage, that always seems integral to the message.
‘Mosh’ for the uninitiated (i.e. moi!) is a seemingly chaotic form of dance that takes place in the pit immediately in front of a rockband at a concert.
Moshing is also known as slam dancing or simply slamming where participants push or slam into each other.
Moshing usually happens in the centre of the crowd, generally closer to the stage, in an area called the ‘pit’.
Driven on by the primeval thump of heavy metal bands with groups such as The Mad Bastards, The Pit Protectors, The Karate Choppers, The Bearded Beer Drinkers and Pit Bulls, the Pit takes on a life of its own.
Apparent chaos can turn into patterned movement.
Individuality is subsumed into the general in a way that mirrors group think.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to do this?
Why would you put your safety on the line for a rock experience?
Waterford’s Rachel Ní Bhraonáin’s dance-performance-drama opens my eyes tonight to a subculture that I could never be part of but that I could at least try to understand.
An important function of theatre is to always ponder the inexplicable.
As the Cheshire Cat said: ‘I’m not crazy…my reality is just different than yours.’
And there are plenty of black t-shirted metal heads in the full house at Garter Lane who do get what it’s like to live on the edge at a rock concert.
When you look deeper, patterns emerge from the seemingly random movement in the MOSH Pit.
Bumpers and bashers find groups. Groups grow and spread out.
Head-bangers unite and live on the edge of chaos where control is just out of reach.
Adrenalin explodes here in a pit where survival is all as bodies crash into bodies and the weak discover what lies buried deep within themselves.
Pit bullers prevent moshers from fleeing while fringers push others into the pit to keep the energy building.
There are rules. Of sorts. Know when the pit begins and ends.
If pushed, push back.
When someone falls, pick them up or else the whole pit could collapse.
If the pit wheels in a circle, drive the herd on.
Give room to slamdance and showy fist flails. If a wall of death is called for, know your side. Keep tempo and pace.
Above all, don’t take it personal.
The five member dance ensemble rarely rest during this nuclear-powered dance drama.
The philosophy of the mosh pit is carried by what appears chaotic and separate but incredibly wheels its way into a unified mass before dissembling again.
There is grace here and invention that draws the audience in to witness how order can come from chaos and grace from distortion.
Fluid geometric designs are shaped from what appears rowdy and dislocated into patterns of grace and elegance.
John Gunning’s lighting design is a work of art.
The first News & Star Green Room Awards Bursary in 2020 was awarded to Rachel to help fund the initial creation of this exciting and innovative work and the idea was first workshopped in Garter Lane 2 in 2021.
I have been eagerly anticipating the final product ever since.
Written and directed by Rachel Ní Bhraonáin with Choreographer Robyn Byrne.
The dance ensemble was Gerard Headley, Emily Kilkenny Roddy, Alex O’Neill, Ben Sullivan, Adam O’Reilly with Karen Millar on drums and Cameron Macaulay on guitar.
Rachel Ní Bhraonáin's imagination and creativity are epic.
Mosh is different.
A big meaty show delivered with real content and style. Unique perhaps.
A wonderful tapestry of movement and energy and sweat that mesmerises and enthrals.
‘In the end’ declares a dancer ‘it’s all about the music.
