Returning to FORM Dance Projects' That's Two, Thank You after winning the 2025 Audience Choice Award, Please... Continue? by Remy Rochester and Angus Onley proves its popularity was entirely deserved. This surreal dance-theatre duet is simply extraordinary.
The piece opens with infectious energy. Two performers in sharp suits delivering what feels like a 1940s-style vaudeville routine, complete with percussive soundtrack courtesy of John Wasson and Caleb Arredondo. Rochester and Onley's chemistry is immediately apparent, their movements synchronised with the kind of precision that suggests countless rehearsal hours.
But Please... Continue? refuses to remain in comfortable territory. The opening's playful nostalgia fractures into something far more complex as the work progresses. The choreography shifts into a series of vignette tableaux, with lighting flashing on and off to reveal different relational configurations between the performers.
This structural choice, essentially creating a fragmented narrative through brief illuminated moments, proves remarkably effective. Each blackout punctuates a shift, allowing Rochester and Onley to reconfigure their physical relationship almost instantaneously. The speed required to transition between these tableaux is considerable, yet both performers execute these shifts seamlessly.
The lighting design by Theodore Carroll and Lyndon Johnston deserves recognition. The staccato rhythm created by the on-off flashing could easily become grating, but instead it establishes a hypnotic pulse that drives the work's momentum. Each illuminated moment feels like a photographic exposure, capturing relationship dynamics in sharp relief before plunging back into darkness.
Please... Continue? is genuinely extraordinary due to the performers' apparent telepathic connection. Rochester and Onley move as if sharing a single nervous system, their timing impeccable even during the most demanding sequences. This synchronicity becomes the work's emotional core, a demonstration of how two people can become so attuned that individual identity blurs into collective movement.
The piece's relationship to absurdism feels carefully considered. The program notes describe it as "a heartfelt homage to the richness of not-knowing, and to the absurdity of our everyday." This philosophical framework manifests in choreography that constantly undermines expectations. Moments of tender connection dissolve into mechanical repetition, pedestrian gestures explode into abstract physicality.
There's something profoundly contemporary about this approach, even as the aesthetic nods to mid-century performance. In an era obsessed with certainty and definitive answers, Please... Continue? celebrates ambiguity. The work suggests that relationships (perhaps all human connection) exist in this liminal space between knowing and not-knowing, between intention and accident.
The percussive soundtrack provides perfect accompaniment, its rhythmic complexity matching the choreography's energetic demands. The music never overwhelms, but instead creates a sonic landscape that supports the performers' explorations without dictating emotional response.
As part of the That's Two, Thank You program, Please... Continue? demonstrates the duet form's capacity for both athletic virtuosity and conceptual sophistication. Rochester and Onley have created work that is simultaneously accessible and intellectually engaging, a difficult balance to achieve.
The piece shows no signs of fatigue despite its relentless energy. Both performers maintain intensity throughout, their stamina as impressive as their technical skill. This sustained commitment keeps audiences locked into the work's rhythm, creating an almost trance-like viewing experience.
Please... Continue? is bold, intelligent, technically accomplished, and genuinely innovative. Its return to the That's Two, Thank You program provides the opportunity for new audiences to experience work that pushes boundaries while remaining emotionally accessible.
More info: https://www.form.org.au/thats-two-thank-you-2026/
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