Beyond Ballets Russes....

 Last saturday I spent in London before the holidays was very very busy. I had never double booked theatre for the same day because I thought it would be too much, a "performance overdose" but I did it this time anyway because it was the only day I could make it. I went to see the English National  Ballet's Beyond Ballets Russes. The programme consisted in The Firebird, Faun(e), L'apres-midi d'un faune and The Rite of Spring. It was the best ballet I have seen in a long time. The design, especially in the Firebird, was incredible. The set was simple but the lightning created such an intense athmosphere that when it ended, it felt like waking up from a dream. The costume was also beautiful and very detailed. Instead of a tutu for the firebird, she was wearing a unitard embroidered in gold, red, purple that created a lovely image with the lights. My second favourite was L'apres-midi d'un faune. A bare stage, two pianos in the corners (that was the only music) and two men dancing together. It was such a touching moment I even felt like crying (I know! strange right?) But it feels good to see that some things can still get to you in between all the crap that it's in this industry.

The firebird

L'apres-midi d'un faune

The second performance I went to see that day was Complicite's The Master and Margarita at the Barbican, based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. The critics were divided: some said it was a masterpiece (like everything Complicite does) and others disliked it completelym saying it lacked direction and the story was blurred. I hadn't seen Complicite before and I was completely blown away by the magnitude and the technical and theatrical style. I loved it all:  the proyections, the scene changes, the costumes... Nobody can say it was unacceptable (which is what the couple behind me said and left during the interval) If you find this unacceptable, there is nothing out there that will please you because Complicite is at the very top when it comes to theatre. 

XOXO