‘Navigating the shark-infested waters of their local‘ There is something truly idiosyncratic about the British pub, dare I go further, the London pub. The Italian osteria or Greek taverna doesn’t have quite the same blend of comfort and rowdiness, that distinctive smell or pint-dulled tang that settles at midnight. So, when I clocked a new(ish) Matthew Bourne set in one ...
‘For the more witchy among you, May Day bank holiday or Beltane is all about renewal, regrowth, and May poles. I have my own tradition, which is an artistic celebration of the new, budding, and blossoming: Breakin’ Convention.’ Due to word limits and a very stuffed festival, I shall be sparing with background. Twenty-two years ago, HipHop legend Jonzi D and his ...
‘Don’t we all want to regress evolutionarily and return to the trees? Ok just me? Well, Dance Reflections does just that with Rachid Ouramdane and the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève’s latest highline extravaganza.’ Arguably the best-heeled festival in the city, your little theatre reviewer returned to the Dance Reflections byVan Cleef & Arpels Festival for much more than just the ...
‘Midway through the gold-spangled Dance Reflections Festival (by Van Cleef & Arpels), Lyon Opera Ballet takes on the messiah of modern dance: Merce Cunningham.’ Dance Reflections Festival – Lyon Opera Ballet If you’re reading this, I assume you are a dance head, like myself, and so the shadow of Merce Cunningham looms large. If not, the American choreographer and dancer dominated the ...
‘Carving out a place within you, and sections will stay forever.’ Michael Keegan-Dolan’s groaning cornucopia of a show with company Teaċ Daṁsa outstands, outsmarts, and exhausts in equal measure. There is so much to discuss, so much crammed in, so many visual, musical, and thematic elements to cover for this show, that I have been sitting for five minutes, fingers ...
‘The Glastonbury Festival’ Everyone has their own specific May bank holiday rituals. Some go for a bracing hike around the Chilterns, some down tinned cocktails on the sin-wagon to Brighton, and some (Including me) pack into the already packed Sadler’s Wells for the yearly hip hop festival Breakin’ Convention. This time the festival is celebrating 21 years. Bounding along, forgetting ...
‘Capturing the very human need to collect’ Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young / Kidd Pivot Raise your hand if you’ve bickered in a book club. Or battled over your child’s nativity play with the oafish costume designer. Or snarked over the coffee cooler in an alcohol/drug or cross-stitcher’s anonymous group. These bubbles of society within a society are common, but ...
‘This piece sits squarely in the middle of her extensive portfolio’ Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch+ Terrain Boris Charmatz Pina Bausch has caused a considerable rift in my household (from beyond the grave I might add). Our normally cohesive theatre-obsessed bubble of two, split down the middle by her infamous company’s style, fondness for repetition, and overall aura. So much so ...
‘Replicating the positives of the original, not bringing much new’ Matthew Bourne 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. ...
‘We jump to our feet enraptured’ 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 ...