Matthew Bourne, Sadlers Wells After 9 years of absence from the London theatre scene, Matthew Bourne’s balletic version of Caroline Thompson, Tim Burton, and Danny Elfman’s 1990 classic film returns with blades a-swishing. Thompson’s screenplay is a riff on the Frankenstein myth, Kookified by Burton and bolstered by Elfman’s expansive musical vistas. Edward, for rather vague reasons, is made with ...
Eun-Me Ahn Company, Barbican Western dragons are often greedy, capricious, and warsome, think Tolkien’s Smaug. But in the East, they embody a sacred and spiritual energy, power, and longevity. Previously reserved for kings, now symbols of composition, multiculturalism, and freedom. So Eun-Me Ahn explains in an interview with Thomas Hahn, when talking about her new work, flapping into the Barbican and now ...
Sadlers Wells Kicking off (quite literally) the 20th year of the Flamenco festival Sara Baras devours the stage. 12 concerts, performances, and shows provide a snapshot of the branching tree that is this enigmatic dance form. What could get you more in the mood for summer than this flash of cultural heat? Baras is a legend and a major exponent ...
Battersea Arts Centre Many of us on this emotionally pruned island only hug our mums at Christmas. In my household, a little shoulder squish is about as demonstrative as we get, and we’re a pretty liberal bunch. Professional Dancer Mohamed Toukabri stages a celebration of touch and connection with his mother Mimouna (Latifa) Khamessi that puts us all to shame. ...
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford On an almost island next to an old mill, and across from the colossal carcass of the abandoned Debenhams is the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. A 60s spaceship of a building in layers of glass and fluffy blue carpets. Guildford’s second theatre to border the slow path of the winding river Wey. Having missed the London run ...
Sadlers Wells 20 years, that’s almost my whole life…if you add a couple of years… OK…10 years, who’s counting? Back in triumphant fashion, this hip hop happening has weathered the last few (hard) years with style and sensational energy. As a confirmed sycophant of the festival, I have seen it on YouTube, with tight restrictions within Sadlers Wells (no distinctive beef ...
Barbican, Ballet Black Cassa Pancho does it again. Pulling intellectually stimulating, and eye-wateringly beautiful ballet out of the proverbial hat. Even if the evening is a little one-sided, I ask, what have we done to deserve it? Ballet Black returns in all their glory. A double bill, something old and something new as it were….with just a dash of something blue(s). William Tuckett’s ...
Julie Cunningham & Company, Sadlers Wells I’ll give ya what ya want, what ya really really want… and if that is a space-age experimental dance piece with the famous Jules Cunningham and sporty (dancy) spice Mel C, then that is what you’ll get. But how does this happen? Celeb cameos are a staple in musical theatre land, as Nicole Scherzinger ...
Grupo de Rua by Bruno Beltrão at Sadler’s Wells In 1996 Bruno Beltrão (only 16) created Grupo de Rua with his friend Rodrigo Bernardi. The only thing I created at 16 was an emotional collage to my “platonic” best friend, never mind I digress. Little did these teenagers know the highs the company would soar to: touring around the world, ...
New English Ballet Theatre, Aud Jebsen Studio Theatre, Royal; Academy of Dance Clouds of Chanel perfume, clacking pearls, with plenty of room to swing a…..arabesque. Welcome to the gleaming columns of the Royal Academy of Dance. Admits this polite cacophony New English Ballet Theatre marks both Remembrance Day and simultaneously celebrates 12 years of existence. Peeking in at dance lessons in ...