Puck is now the mischievous sprite that we expect and Kevin Poeung executes speedy and challenging choreography with aplomb.
Our quarrelling lovers are now warring fairies – Hippolyta is Titania, Queen of the Fairies; Theseus is Oberon, King of the Fairies – and the rest of the dance troupe are also in the dream.
Pippa Moore is charming as the effervescent Helena (desperately in love with Demetrius – who does not reciprocate her feelings) and Darren Goldsmith as Nick Bottom (the stage carpenter who is transformed into a donkey) raises plenty of laughs.
All of the principal roles are danced and performed well – there are so many ‘lead’ parts in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that the whole Company has the opportunity to shine.
This is an enchanting take on a classic rom-com.
Stunning sets?
Definitely.
Diverse dancing?
With pointe work, contemporary ballet, exhilarating partnering, a tap sequence and high-spirited party dancing, there is plenty of movement!
Beautiful costumes?
Real-world designs are inspired by Dior’s post-war New Look (nipped in waists, elegant lines, wide-brimmed hats) and the dream-world is a colourful confection of winged creations.
Do I have to know Shakespeare’s story?
Whatever your familiarity with Shakespeare’s play - and no matter how experienced (or not) you may be when it comes to watching ballet - Northern Ballet’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a delightful production that everyone can enjoy.
By Georgina Butler
http://georginabutler.
REVIEW: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM BY NORTHERN BALLET
Northern Ballet prides itself on telling stories and making dance accessible to all.
Unsurprisingly, the Company’s fanciful take on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ proved amusing, attractive and absorbing last night at Milton Keynes Theatre.
Artistic Director David Nixon sets the romantic entanglements and power struggles in a British touring ballet company during the 1940s – the era that saw Ninette de Valois form Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet.
Ballet had moved into the theatrical mainstream and principal ballet dancers were idolised.
Within companies there was an obvious hierarchy and this works brilliantly for the dynamics of authority and control in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
While Shakespeare’s lovers argue over a child, Nixon’s Hippolyta (a prima ballerina in the fictional ballet company) and her fiancé Theseus (the Artistic Director of the troupe) fall out over Theseus’ demands that Hippolyta retire from dancing.
All of the lovers from the play are dancers within the fictional company (Bottom is portrayed as a stage carpenter) and by the end of the first scene their amorous aspirations are clear.
We join the company on Midsummer’s Day as their daily ballet class ends and they prepare for a rehearsal of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
This ballet-within-a-ballet echoes Shakespeare’s play-within-a-play (his text features ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’) and successfully reflects the central themes of romance, confusion and control.
In this ‘real-world’ scene, Puck is the Ballet Master.
Dancer Kevin Poeung is masterful as the cruel, tyrannical teacher.
Moments of silence create intimidating dramatic intensity but I did find some of the use of dialogue slightly disconcerting (and ultimately unnecessary as Northern Ballet dancers are always so expressive in their body language).
As the young dancers attempt to rebel against the casting decisions being made by the Artistic Director and Hippolyta contemplates life without ballet in an emotive solo, it is evident that tempers are frayed.
Act One ends with the company boarding an overnight sleeper train to Edinburgh – the next stop on their tour.
The train itself is an impressive feat of design.
Duncan Hayler’s sets are amazing – the ballet studio undergoes an instant transformation (as if by magic but actually thanks to some clever lighting and panel shifting) and becomes the train setting off from the platform.
As the smoke clears, the sides of the train whizz round and we are treated to views of all of the characters bedding down for the night in their sleeper-compartments.
Comedy is ever-present – dancers clamber over each other, mime with gusto and really bring their characters’ personalities to life.
Unbeknownst to the dancers and the stage crew, they will make an impromptu stop in Fairyland as Midsummer’s Night draws in and the dream begins.
This fantasy dream-world is breath-taking – everything is topsy-turvy and there are appreciative gasps from the audience in response to both the sets and costumes.
Puck is now the mischievous sprite that we expect and Kevin Poeung executes speedy and challenging choreography with aplomb.
Our quarrelling lovers are now warring fairies – Hippolyta is Titania, Queen of the Fairies; Theseus is Oberon, King of the Fairies – and the rest of the dance troupe are also in the dream.
Pippa Moore is charming as the effervescent Helena (desperately in love with Demetrius – who does not reciprocate her feelings) and Darren Goldsmith as Nick Bottom (the stage carpenter who is transformed into a donkey) raises plenty of laughs.
All of the principal roles are danced and performed well – there are so many ‘lead’ parts in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that the whole Company has the opportunity to shine.
This is an enchanting take on a classic rom-com.
Stunning sets?
Definitely.
Diverse dancing?
With pointe work, contemporary ballet, exhilarating partnering, a tap sequence and high-spirited party dancing, there is plenty of movement!
Beautiful costumes?
Real-world designs are inspired by Dior’s post-war New Look (nipped in waists, elegant lines, wide-brimmed hats) and the dream-world is a colourful confection of winged creations.
Do I have to know Shakespeare’s story?
Whatever your familiarity with Shakespeare’s play - and no matter how experienced (or not) you may be when it comes to watching ballet - Northern Ballet’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a delightful production that everyone can enjoy.
By Georgina Butler
http://georginabutler.
Puck is now the mischievous sprite that we expect and Kevin Poeung executes speedy and challenging choreography with aplomb.
Our quarrelling lovers are now warring fairies – Hippolyta is Titania, Queen of the Fairies; Theseus is Oberon, King of the Fairies – and the rest of the dance troupe are also in the dream.
Pippa Moore is charming as the effervescent Helena (desperately in love with Demetrius – who does not reciprocate her feelings) and Darren Goldsmith as Nick Bottom (the stage carpenter who is transformed into a donkey) raises plenty of laughs.
All of the principal roles are danced and performed well – there are so many ‘lead’ parts in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ that the whole Company has the opportunity to shine.
This is an enchanting take on a classic rom-com.
Stunning sets?
Definitely.
Diverse dancing?
With pointe work, contemporary ballet, exhilarating partnering, a tap sequence and high-spirited party dancing, there is plenty of movement!
Beautiful costumes?
Real-world designs are inspired by Dior’s post-war New Look (nipped in waists, elegant lines, wide-brimmed hats) and the dream-world is a colourful confection of winged creations.
Do I have to know Shakespeare’s story?
Whatever your familiarity with Shakespeare’s play - and no matter how experienced (or not) you may be when it comes to watching ballet - Northern Ballet’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a delightful production that everyone can enjoy.
By Georgina Butler
http://georginabutler.
