Last night we were at Milton Keynes Theatre to see 'Hamlet': a ballet by David Nixon performed by Northern Ballet Theatre. Setting the story in occupied Paris in 1940 gave the ballet a distinctive, ominously dark style with period costumes, references to Berlin cabaret and ever-present Nazi regalia (and incorporating some brutal torture scenes). There was some great dancing, particularly from Nathalie Leger as Gertrude and Darren Goldsmith as Claudius, and Ophelia's mad scene was performed with beautiful delicacy by Georgina May. I very much enjoyed the music by Philip Feeney – a varied and impressive orchestral score. But I thought there were some substantial problems with the plot: by adding new elements (such as the use of written death warrants) and cutting some key scenes, an already complicated plot became quite confusing. And in some cases the changes just didn't make sense: why would Laertes seek out Hamlet to avenge his sister's death when, in this version, Ophelia has not committed suicide but has instead been raped and murdered by Nazi officers? Nevertheless, a stylish and enjoyable production.
Friday, May 23, 2008
'Hamlet': a ballet by David Nixon
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
'Romeo & Juliet' by Northern Ballet Theatre
We've been meaning to get around to watching some ballet for ages. We finally took the plunge at Milton Keynes Theatre last Saturday where we saw Northern Ballet Theatre's 'Romeo & Juliet' and it was great! I think it helped that we had chosen a story we knew well, set to familiar music (by Prokofiev). Having played the concert suites I was intrigued to see how sections of the music were repeated throughout the ballet as 'motifs' for particular characters etc. It was also interesting to see how interpreting the plot through dance (choreography by Massimo Moricone and original direction by Christopher Gable) stretched time in different directions. Complex plot development scenes which are quite substantial in the Shakespeare play were over in the blink of an eye in the ballet, while the dance lingered understandably much longer on expressions of feelings between the characters. I am not convinced that I would have been able to follow all the intricacies of the plot without knowing the play well (I don't see how you could dance/mime Friar Laurence's explanation that the potion will only induce a death-like sleep - if you didn't already know this you would probably get quite a surprise when Juliet wakes up!). And I still think some of the 'silent movie' exaggerated mime moments sit uneasily within the seriousness of the story and the dance - there were too many 'silent scream' moments with dancers waving their hands in mock surprise! But the dancing was lovely and very moving. I particularly liked Pippa Moore's child-like Juliet and Hironao Takahashi's swaggering Mercutio. 'Romeo & Juliet' was definitely a hit and I think more ballet beckons ...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
‘Riot at the Rite’
This week I watched ‘Riot at the Rite’ – the BBC2 drama about the opening night of The Rite of Spring in Paris in 1913. I must admit I’ve never really ’got’ Stravinsky – but this excellent programme began to open my eyes. It showed the difficult rehearsals – with both dancers and orchestra – and the arguments between Stravinsky, Nijinsky and Diaghilev – all of whom claimed that the work was their idea – as did Roerich, the designer, a withdrawn, bearded, pipe-smoker who did not speak at all in this drama and, at the end of the controversial opening performance, quietly slipped out the stage door and walked alone into the night, gently sucking his pipe.
I also enjoyed the two audience members who spent the whole performance spotting famous people in the auditorium: at one point one of them points to a young man a couple of rows in front of them who is drawing on a sketch pad and says “You know who that is?” – his companion shakes his head and the first man says “Picasso” – the second man asks “What is he drawing?” – the first man leans over to get a look and then whispers loudly “a chicken!” – the music starts again and the second man mouths silently “Why?” to which the first man slowly mouths the reply “I – don’t – know!”.
The programme was a drama, a comedy and a love story – but also incorporated a full continuous performance of The Rite of Spring performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Finnish National Ballet with choreography based on Nijinsky’s original and sets modeled on Roerich’s designs. Having seen the amount of work that had gone into the production you really felt for the performers when the heckling started but I also really began to enjoy watching the ballet and understanding the music for the first time. Then the final scene with the “what happened next” text superimposed on Nijinsky alone on the stage in an empty theatre added a poignant twist. Wonderful television.