Coated Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) I saw tonight's performance at Sadler's Wells, and was very taken with it, a mix of spoken word and dance that doesn't follow any traditional storytelling but manages to express the of inner world of a deeply traumatised survivor. A slow start setting a claustrophobic tone in an unsettled environment, an exploration of a shattered mind, the psychological aftermath of a not quite specified catastrophe slowly unfurling on stage. At times it felt as if you're in someone's mind where nothing is fixed and everything returns to the one moment in time where life was irreversibly changed. The first half seemed lighter on dancing than the second, more movement with episodes of sinister tab dancing and a few cabaret style sequences. The second half had some longer dance sequences that really made you notice how good the dancers were and how well the choreography worked for a difficult concept to express on stage. Hat off to all creatives involved. It wasn't everyone's cup of tea and a small number of people left at the intermission, though most of the Sadler's crowd really seemed to like it and it ended with big standing ovation. Edited May 31, 2016 by Coated 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 We had a small section to photo this afternoon - here are some photos: cast of Betroffenheit© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickrcast of Betroffenheit© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSee more... Set from DanceTabs: Betroffenheit (Kidd Pivot/Electric Company Theatre)Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Extraordinary piece of theatre. Brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 It was a great shame that we could only photograph a 35 second segment, which must make it the shortest photocall ever. And dark. Here is one of my pictures. More pictures on www.johnrossballetgallery.co.uk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 35 seconds? That's ridiculous. Barely enough to warrant the journey, I'd have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 35 seconds? That's ridiculous. Barely enough to warrant the journey, I'd have thought. well, they did run it 3 times.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 I can only second (third?) what Coated and Bill have said. The place was rather fuller than I'd expected when I checked availability: I can't help wondering whether some people had gone back for a second viewing. It's that sort of piece. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted June 1, 2016 Author Share Posted June 1, 2016 I can only second (third?) what Coated and Bill have said. The place was rather fuller than I'd expected when I checked availability: I can't help wondering whether some people had gone back for a second viewing. It's that sort of piece. I would have gone back had I'd been free tonight and I overheard a couple of people last night planning to get more tickets ASAP, so your hunch seems spot on to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickwellings Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Having missed Pite's Polaris last year, which garnered rave reviews, I was on the lookout for anything else she might bring to the UK. I chanced on Betroffenheit and booked on a whim. I am glad I did. The show itself was a bizarre spectacle for the first half, and hinted at a more tender, purer form of dance in the second half. More than the show itself I was glad to see Pite's dance vocabulary in action - mesmerising, thrilling at times, and to my eyes, unique. It makes other contemporary offerings look rather staid. I am not quite sure it offers a readily packaged analysis of madness, or depression in dance. Rather, it was often mad dancing, mad moments, for madness. So at times, a little impenetrable. Whether it says new things about trauma is debatable, but it said what it did with verve, passion, energy and innovation. One felt at times that one was watching something from the creative mind of a genius, such was the polished oddity on show. Of course, this could be product of many minds making a good show. Well worth seeing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I was staying near Sadlers yesterday and was intending to go to this as someone who had been said it was really very good with a lot going on etc .....but I was so tired yesterday evening I didn't in the end but wish now I had made that extra effort. I do wish some things were on for longer though....only 2 nights!! The same with Northern Ballets Jane Eyre .....just two nights at Richmond Theatre. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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