Theatre Review
Northern Ballet Theatre
HAMLET
Choreographer: David Nixon Music by Philip Feeney Conductor: John Pryce Jones Sadler’s Wells 22 – 26 April, 2008
A review by Barry Grantham for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Northern Ballet’s Hamlet is an honest piece of work, and I am sure that the creative team worked diligently in the hope of producing a worthwhile piece of theatre. It has provided work for a large number of dancers, musicians, and costume makers, and given them the opportunity to practice their skills, and so I will not permit myself to be flippant. I shall not, for instance title my review: ‘Allo ‘Allo ‘Amlet. But truth to tell, it does speak less of the vacillating Dane, than of occupied France – and this it does rather well, helped by an atmospheric score by Philip Feeney - noises of the Paris streets, (and snatches of German wartime songs) are incorporated with sounds of the orchestra in a more sober ‘American in Paris’. As the piece progressed I did wonder if Mr Feeley was being just a bit too accommodating, so that I was reminded of those 40’s films in which the music forecasts the situation about to happen. Still, as I say, Paris was there, one might even smell the Gauloises, and the Paris of the occupation. Figures walk briskly, it is inadvisable to loiter - dance moves are introduced furtively and then abandoned - no one cares to be seen exhibiting emotion - these are dangerous times. So far, it’s more dance-drama than ballet, but that David Nixon can choreograph is shown in several pas de deux – Hamlet and Ophelia, Hamlet and Gertrude - and later in an excellent group waltz at the German Embassy. The problem with telling a famous story in a different discipline is that we are waiting to see the well remembered set pieces. And these were either omitted or so obscure that I didn’t identify them. Where was the fearful apparition of Dad on the battlements? Could that have been him in toilet? I had given up on Polonius’s death behind the arras. When it came it was disappointing – no arras, alas. And what of ‘To be or not to be’ ? – The truth is that without his powers of speech young Hamlet is a deuced dull fellow. Now, I didn’t miss the words from Ophelia’s ‘There’s rosemary..’ scene; because, in this one instance , the portrayal was so graphic, the choreography so good and the dance mime of Miss Georgina May, so moving that words sprang to one’s lips as she danced the actions. I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died’. Oh, dear, I must protest at her end at the hands of a Nazi gang-rape. I know such things happened – happen. It is not to the rape of the girl that I protest but to the rape of Shakespeare’s character. The whole idea is that she died trying to place her coronet of wild flowers on a branch over the stream’ – much more indicative of her sweet nature and a contrast to the horror surrounding her. And what was the torture scene about? The only thing Mr Nixon has persuaded me is that 20th century Paris was a great deal nastier than 15th cent Denmark. After all what’s a poisoned sword, or two between friends? The Northern Ballet is doing its best for the ecology, by saving electricity. During the entire evening there was hardly a scene that was more than a couple of lumens above blackout. There, I’m being flippant again, but this is something about which I feel most strongly. The lighting designer should be kept in his place – and that place is to light the stage so that we can see the performers; that, and no more than a subtle hint of the emotional ambience of the scene By curtain time by far the greatest applause came for the Ophelia of Georgina May, the Gertrude of Nathalie Leger and the orchestra. (Conductor: John Pryce Jones). I concur. In my experience I can recall only one other ‘danced’ Hamlet – and that is Robert Helpmann’s production (1st perf.1942) As a teenager I saw a revival in 1958 and thought it impressive. It had a rather clever solution to the problem of turning a famously wordy play into a ballet. At the opening and at the close the dead Hamlet is seen being borne upstage, his head falling back as he rests on the shoulders of the monks. The whole ballet is then just imagined to have taken place in Hamlet’s mind as he is carried the few paces upstage – ‘For in that sleep of death what dreams may come’. At the time I thought it a great bit of theatre, though it didn’t seem to get much acclaim, and as far as I know has never been performed since. Will Mr Nixon’s work have a longer shelf-life? Personally I doubt it.
Tues to Sat at 7.30 (Matinees Thurs & Sat. at 2.30pm Sadler’s Wells Box Office: 0844 412 4300 Tickets: £10 -£40 Set and Costumes: Christopher Giles Lighting: Tim Mitchell
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