26 October 2019. Concerto, Enigma Variations, Raymonda at ROH

This triple bill of tried and tested ballets (varying from 78th to 123rd performances) was pleasant enough but, for me, let down by the Enigma Variations filling in the sandwich. The other two seemed to offer more opportunity for displays of pure dance, albeit loosely conveying a story in the case of Raymonda. On the other hand, the Variations left me rather cold as we waded through the various characters with the dancers all dressed in attire that must have made their jobs rather constrained and difficult.
The first piece, Concerto, was choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Shostakovich. It features couples as well groups in support. The coordination seemed outstanding and for me, Lauren Cuthbertson and Reece Clarke stood out in the second movement. The plain stage and simple yellow and orange costumes appealed to my minimalist preferences.
Given that statement, not surprisingly Enigma Variations had less appeal with its quite elaborate set and costumes of Edwardian garb. It is, of course, quite a light and amusing piece but not really what I am looking for. On the other hand, Raymonda gave more opportunity for purer dance, albeit lightly conveying the culmination (a wedding) of a story. The main parts were taken by Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov who both seemed excellent to me.

24 October 2019. The Future Bursts in at the Linbury

This programme at the Linbury was part of the Dance Umbrella event held in London in October. It was a triple bill of dance dedicated to the centeneary of Merce Cunningham's birth and culminating with a piece choreographed by MC himself. This last, Sounddance, featured eight dancers from CCN - Ballet de Lorraine who emerged from a laong curtain along the back of the stage. Draped in the same apricot colour as the dancers' tops, the stage created a harmonious look that contrasted with the disharmony of the music by David Tudor. It was a splendid end to a splendid evening. I've no idea if there was any meaning of if it was purely abstract but it was certainly a feast to watch.
Sounddance followed the spectacular For Four Walls, also featuring dancers from CCN - Ballet de Lorraine. This involved probably twenty dancers with the stage reduced by a half hexagon of mirrors that gave three reflections of them and the audience. This was incredibly effective in creating a theatrical effect. Dancers came and went, sometimes in great swirls like a flock of birds. All this to a dramatic piano with the dramatic pianist - Vanessa Wagner - playing a piece by MC's partner, John Cage.
Finally, or firstly, we had then trio that comprise Compagnie Amala Dianor, including Amala Dianor himself. The piece, Somewhere in the middle of infinity, was thoroughly contemporary - AD himself having been a hip hop dancer. The three conveyed well the feeling of three young men 'united somewhere in the midst of infinity.'
All in all, a great evening that was accompanied by an educational and illuminating programme.

17 October 2019. Cion at Barbican

I went along with no real concept of what this 'requiem to Ravel's Bolero' would be like. Set amongst simple wooden crosses to evoke a cemetary, the eight dancers and their leader Gregory Maqoma created an extraordinary atmosphere and spectacle. With deeply rhythmic music from Beatboxer Siphiwe Nkabinde and his three colleagues, the ensemble had the audience pretty well spellbound for 70 minutes. The finale of rhythmic on-the-spot dancing was quite amazing and drew a deserved standing ovation.

16 October 2019. Either at Hampstead.

This play by Ruby Thomas came as a bit of a shock to some of the senior citizens sitting behind me. The action seemed to be considering the merits of open relationships - hetero and homo - versus settling down to commitment. This is done by a slick interleafing of characters in dyad conversations - e.g., a man is speaking to a woman; and then picking up the same thread with a man. We seem to be heading down the road to commitment but then the play ends with one of the characters recounting how her father was revealed to have had not one but two mistresses before a stroke felled him.
It was interesting to watch and very slickly done with excellent timing by the six actors. The set was also excellent and symbolic - a white triangle receding in front of us with three doors on either side.
Some of the detail and indeed action (simulated just off-stage blow job) was quite graphic and, in truth I'm not entirely sure it got us anywhere. However, it was an engaging 75 or so minutes.

14 October 2019. Blank at the Donmar Warehouse

This is a difficult evening to write up. This new play by Alice Birch is dealing with a very important topic but was - for me- overcomplex in its structure. It all started fine with two women talking about the new boyfriend of one of them. Then the next scene had a young addict breaking into her own house to steal some money. Then I started to get lost. Each of the subsequent scenes (picked from the 100 scenes available in the text) worked well or very well in its own right - and particularly the scenes with the two excellent child actors but piecing it all together in a way that I could truly recount what happened is beyond me. People got sent to prison; tried to commit suicide; had a baby. But then there was a scene at a dinner party where mushy liberal-views-spouting women were taken down by the new girlfriend of one of them - questioning for example whether #metoo was really of global significance. This was interesting and maybe was a counterpoint to us being bothered about women in prison in the first place. But then, one of the children came and smashed the table up.
In the end, I was left feeling inadequate for not following this complex piece but in truth the criticism probably lies with the play and its directors who insufficiently grasped how baffling the whole thing would be for an unprepared audience seeing it for the first time. Apart from dipping in to the 100 scenes, Birch apparently doesn't give the characters names in the text but just letters. That would explain how we ended up with the same actors (in the same clothes) playing different characters.
It was a two hour straight run and not surprisingly a few people sneaked out. Most stayed and the acting got some whoops of applause. That was deserved, as was the rendition of the individual scenes. The problem was tying it all together. A failure on that front, apart from anything else, surely means the message is somewhat lost on the viewer. This is a pity as the joint production by the Donmar and Clean Break clearly has an important message to convey - especially in the era of Priti Patel as Home Secretary.

12 October 2019. Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp at the Royal Court

Here we had four eagerly awaited plays by Caryl Churchill.  With a certain amount of tube chaos, I arrived too late for Glass and watching it on the monitor was pretty hopeless. It certainly looked visually engaging but I could hardly hear the words. Anyway, latecomers were let in as the behind the curtain scene was being changed while in front of the curtain, we were treated to a spectacular juggler. Then the curtain rose for Kill, an extraordinary near-monologue with Tom Mothersdale sitting on a cloud as the Gods while a young boy played below him. The Gods recounted the incredibly convoluted plots of Greek plays in a way that was funny but also very engaging for poetry of the words and the manner of delivery. It pointed out how much was done to please the Gods that don't exist and ended with the Gods calling a halt. Fascinating to watch at the time, one is left pondering what Caryl Churchill is getting at. My interpretation is perhaps the rather plain one that so much human history is about killing - and killing for convoluted reasons often in the name of belief. Any God worthy of worship would surely be unimpressed by our human behaviour.
The intermission between Kill and the next play was filled by another amazing spectacle - this time a gymnast who managed to support herself on one arm, the whole time revealing the tension that the feat involved. This over, the curtain revealed four suburban characters discussing their old friend bluebeard and how his killings had come as such a surprise. They had on display the blood-stained dresses of his various victims and went on to discuss how they might market replicas of these as souvenirs to cash in on their relationship. It was excellently acted and staged so that this absurd situation became engrossing for its 15 minutes or so.
After the interval, came the much lengthier Imp. This starred in particular Deborah Findlay and Toby Jones as a couple of cousins, Dot and Jimmy, both on benefits, living together "without sex". Jimmy likes to go for runs to help with his depression; Dot really just sat in her chair using her inhaler from time to time. They are joined by Niamh, a young relative from Ireland who strikes up a relationship with Rob a homeless man who visits Dot and Jimmy. Some way into the play, Jimmy reveals that Dot has a bottle that she believes contains an imp and he goes on to try and use the imp to bring Rob good fortune; however, when Rob appears to dump Niamh the imp is invoked to put a curse on him. For a while, we are told Rob has found work in Saudi Arabia and Niamh has been posted to Paris. However, at the end, it becomes clear that this is all a ruse and Rob and Niamh are in fact together and she is pregnant.
The words of this play were quite Beckett-like - or maybe Pinter. They just washed through, beautiful to listen to. The most extraordinary exchange was Dot asking Jimmy if she was still attractive and him replying 'you know you're not'. What to make of it? Well, it cleverly confronted us with the power of beliefs in imp-like powers. Dot was mortified when Jimmy revealed he might have released the imp, as if a genuine power had been taken away. Then again, we were treated to some thoughts on the nature of relationships and how sex is such a powerful and misleading motivator especially before old age.
All in all, I thought this was great evening and would happily go to it again. for some reason, the critics seemed united on four-stars. Personally, I would give it five.