Ambiguous Dance Company - Coldplay Click here to watch Crossover, the desire of one genre to experiment with, or collaborate with, another, sometimes reaches the heights, sometimes reveals itself to be someone’s fantasy which, when manifested, turns out to be someone’s bad dream. Often, as here, the audience is left to judge which is which. Coldplay is a British rock band which has enjoyed almost unparallelled worldwide success since its formation in 1996. Its innovative front man, Chris Martin, has been open to musical experimentation since the band was formed. This new video for their song Higher Power is a collaboration with the Ambiguous Dance Company which describes itself as a new evolution of contemporary dance and one of South Korea’s most prominent collectives. Its other explantions for what they do are beyond me but you can read them on their website. As dancers, choreographers and collaborators, the jury is still out. See what you think. King Lear – Ian Mckellen Click here for tickets The Chichester Festival Theatre’s stunning production of Shakespeare's King Lear with Ian McKellen as the King is now available on the National Theatre’s platform. Directed by Jonathan Mumby, this is a modern dress production set in a fantasy British court where each character, marvellously played, is delineated in precise black and white terms and where each has a ‘back story’ that illuminates their characters. McKellen’s Lear is the crowning achievement of his celebrated career, at once an intimate study of old age and arrogance, and a detailed examination of the compassion that emerges when confronted with hardship and pain. No stranger to what has been called the greatest tragedy ever written – he has played Lear before, in a much-lauded 2007 Royal Shakespeare production as well as a well-received Edgar in 1974 and Kent in 1990 – but throughout this Chichester production his familiarity with the nuance in each line of the text is demonstrated. He knows his Lear, with all his foibles and shortcomings, and is not afraid to expose them to our scrutiny. Ludwig van Beethoven: “Choral Fantasy” op. 80 - Seiji Ozawa, Martha Argerich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSfMH9Y5bi8 I’m not sure why, but when I was trying to think of a piece of music to play in this week of the Queen’s funeral, it wasn’t Brahms German Requiem or the Faure Requiem or even the Verdi Requiem that came to mind. It was this, the Beethoven Choral Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra. Perhaps it is the sight of this legendary Japanese conductor, Seiji Ozawa, now 87, being helped to the stage by the equally legendary Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich, now 81, that I find so touching and appropriate for this week’s memorials for a 96-year old Queen. They look happy but elderly as they greet the young members of the orchestra at the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto. Every summer since 1992 Seiji Ozawa has gathered some great musicians in Matsumoto, Japan, to play with the young musicians he is famous for encouraging. Since 2015 Saito Kinen Festival has been better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. And here they are, these octogenarians, looking frail as they advance to the podium and the piano bench and then, with the orchestra and huge chorus, playing the hell out of the Choral Fantasy. All frailty banished. Not in evidence anywhere. Just pure artistry. Nureyev: Legend and Legacy Click here for tickets Last week, some of the world’s ballet stars came together to celebrate the legacy of Rudolf Nureyev at London's historic Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Widely regarded as the greatest male ballet dancer ever, he transcended borders and his performances popularized ballet with audiences throughout the world. Nureyev Legend & Legacy featured a dazzling array of highlights from Nureyev’s transformative career performed by an international cast of dancers from ballet companies throughout the world. The dancers taking part are William Bracewell, Yuhui Choe, Alina Cojocaru, Cesar Corrales, Guillaume Côté, Benjamin Ella, Francesco Gabriele Frola, Ida Praetorius, Francesca Hayward, Oleg Ivenko, Daichi Ikarashi, Natascha Mair, Maia Makhateli, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Naghdi, Natalia Osipova, Xander Parish, Iana Salenko, Alexandr Trusch, and Marianna Tsembenhoi Each piece has been selected to represent different aspects of Nureyev’s life and work accompanied by live music performed by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Music Director David Briskin. Nureyev Legend and Legacy gives audiences the chance to experience the magic and mastery of Nureyev through a new generation of dancers. Truly a night that audiences will never forget. Pocket Review The Snail House – Hampstead Theatre I don’t know what to tell you about The Snail House. My mother told me that if you can’t say anything nice about something it’s better to say nothing at all and I'm tempted to say nothing at all. But that’s a cop out. The play, a family drama about generational conflict and parental hubris, is the first original play by Richard Eyre, former Director of the National Theatre. His directing, writing and adaptation credits, in very small type, fill an entire page of the printed play. He’s a Knight of the Realm and a Companion of Honour. He’s a very big deal indeed in my world. I admire him tremendously. He’s also a thoroughly nice man. I expected a meaty new play with lots to think about. Why? Because he's Richard Eyre. He's the man who knows what makes a good play and how to direct it. But the truth is, and I don’t know any other way to say this, The Snail House simply doesn't work. It is shapeless and flabby, with arguments that meander everywhere but don’t go anywhere, dialogue that states its points too loosely and decreasingly effectively, and characters who have nowhere to grow within the play and are left to repeat their various complaints against the central charater ever more emphatically. And this great director, and he is a great director, makes staging mistakes that any directing student would recognise early in the rehearsal process and eliminate. The bare bones of The Snail House are these: a famous doctor who has covered himself with public glory during the pandemic has been knighted for his services. He’s giving himself a party to celebrate his success and his birthday. His family is less than enthusiastic about the party or about him. His long-suffering wife (the best written character with the least to do in a fine performance from Eva Pope), his smarmy son, and his snarky, half-baked daughter all have their own grievances as does the catering manager, (a well-thought out performance from Amanda Bright). The first act is mainly comprised of family arguments while the catering staff endlessly set the table before dinner. The second is more family arguments while the staff endlessly dismantle the table after dinner. The party happens off-stage. It seems to me that Richard Eyre had about six different plays he wanted to write and he introduces all their topics during the course of the evening. Unfortunately, he doesn’t develop any of them and they are left to drop onto the stage like so many used tissues. The only significant event happens in the last ten minutes and is a completely separate plot which has nothing to do with the family or their various agendas. My mother was right.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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