Soft GodAbbey Theatre, Dublin★★★☆☆Instead of looking too deeply to find a narrative in Soft God, by the choreographer Emma Martin, it helps to embrace its chaos. Sometimes whimsical, at other times thoughtful, this performance meanders through what initially feels like a glimpse of history, first through old-fashioned Irish dance halls, then to a more contemporary theatre backstage.The focus of the show, which was commissioned by Dublin Dance Festival and the Abbey Theatre, becomes more personal when the dancers, whose unwavering energy offers a constant thread, support each other through the changing settings.Jessie Thompson boldly kick-starts the action on a stage lit with a single fluorescent bulb and lined by racks of haphazardly hung costumes. She launches into a captivating, self-centred solo, often blowing kisses at the audience. She is the first performer to urgently want the audience’s attention, and to work hard at getting it.Five other dancers join her and flirt with the audience. Stanley Menthor steps forward like a wallflower and ultimately joins the others in their high-octane dancing and percussive steps. They ignite as a group, with Kévin Coquelard a particularly steady, driving force.Costumes change, the music constantly shifts and every so often Wayne Jordan crosses the stage with a large sweeping brush, scattering away the silver tinsel, white powder and rose petals that have accumulated in all of the action.All the while Ennio Sammarco sits in a plastic red chair at the back of the stage with unusual textiles piling on top of him until he can no longer be seen. It’s a mad set-up, especially when a stuffed white horse falls from the rafters. With all the dissonance and perplexity, the dancers never waver in their power and stamina. When one breaks away in a new form of self-expression, the others join in with solidarity, which happens often enough that it might be one of Soft God’s messages. While it’s tempting to want to impose some kind of structure or narrative on what’s going on, doing so in such a stream-of-consciousness environment brings up more questions than answers.Soft God is at the Abbey Theatre, as part of Dublin Dance Festival, until Saturday, May 16th