Saboteur is a dance theatre work that follows four women as they reveal who they are at their worst in their romantic entanglements. A collaboration between choreographer MaryAnn McGovern and poet Ike Floor, Saboteur is a lighthearted, funny work that brings to light self-sabotaging tendencies, that as it turns out, most of us have in common.
“Saboteur is danced by four very funny women….Saboteur isn’t portraits of the meddling and nosy, though—it honestly appraises how a person deals with what they find when digging around in someone else’s life. Dance breaks come courtesy of a lighthearted and enjoyable soundtrack by The Postmarks, Hall and Oates (“Private Eyes,” natch), Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and Beirut. The inextricability of these trustless relationships continues to pop forward; for every gripe like “Whiskey isn’t dinner, and neither is coffee,” there’s mention of trappings of commitment like joint savings accounts. Empty bottles of bottom-shelf booze are tenderly pulled across the stage on a string; a gallon in front and a half-pint behind, they look like a hen and her duckling just happening through. Saboteur is responsible for my remembrance of “Part/Whole” as a funny show—McGuire’s sudden awakening from a nightmare about Mia Michaels is priceless—when in fact it was comic relief on a program of mostly straightforward, pure dance.”
-Zac Whittenburg, Time Out Chicago
Choreography: MaryAnn McGovern