Jenni Large promises “equal parts grim and glam” in her new work for Australian Dance Theatre. Half that description is true. Faraway is exceptionally glam.

There’s much to admire in every department. Anna Whitaker’s smartly modulated score takes a sophisticated journey ranging from the gentle call of romance to thumping night-club cool. Alex Berlage, who is a fine director as well as a sought-after lighting designer, bathes the stage in an otherworldly haze. Meg Wilson offers monochrome chic in her barely-there costume design and sparse forest of hanging vines.

The gorgeous bodies of seven ADT dancers animate this visual and aural beauty with supreme grace and lofty emotional distance.

Joshua Doctor and Yilin Kong in Faraway. Photo © Jonathan VDK

The dream world promised by choreographer Jenni Large is apparent everywhere. The “fetishistic exorcism”? Not really. There isn’t enough urgency to merit that description.

Faraway does include representations of sexual desire and fulfilment but they look neat and tidy. Tame. The costuming is bondage as style (it looks fabulous) so when that bondage is stripped away it’s not cathartic – just a canny style choice. The only hint of the avowed nightmares is...