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Northern Ballet: Jonathan Watkins’ 1984, Leeds and on tour, 2015


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On the whole, I don't think the story translated well into a ballet. I've never read the book or indeed a precis, and I found the storty very difficult to follow. It spite of this, there is no doubt that it is a very stylish production and there was excellent performances. It was well filmed too. Often ballet on TV uses far too many cameras, with too many cuts between short shots, but in this case they got the balance right.

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On the whole, I don't think the story translated well into a ballet. I've never read the book or indeed a precis, and I found the storty very difficult to follow.

 

I thought 1984 was one of those books that was always read in schools!.  And of course there are progammes like Big Brother and Room 101 that directly link up to it. 

 

Not sure if it has been mentioned elsewhere, but it will be on the BBC iPlayer for the next month for those like me who missed it.

Edited by Fonty
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We got home later than planned, so we missed the first 30 minutes.  Nonetheless, I thought the essence of the book was conveyed pretty well though, at the end, whilst Winston was clearly defeated, I'm not sure that anything showed him as  now 'loving' Big Brother.  I thought Martha Leebolt carried the Julia role very strongly and felt the through-written score worked very well - also, a big shout for the Proles and their fanatical devotion to BB.

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  • 1 month later...

NB opened in Edinburgh last night.  Goodness me Martha Leebolt, Toby Batley and Javier Torres were on magnificent form!

 

I have come to the conclusion that this production actually works better on a traditional proscenium stage than it did in WYP.

 

I know I keep banging on the drum about this but Toby Batley really is remarkable in this piece.  He manages to change his whole stance to one of a man who is world weary and frightened.  In the start of the duet at the end of Act 1 you can see he is battling with his emotions and terror of being seen but gradually he blossoms.  Martha is very clearly taking the lead in the relationship but they eventually become a partnership of equals.  The final scenes after they had been captured were very moving.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of the weekend!

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On Friday evening I had my first opportunity to see Giuliano Contadini as Winston with Dreda Blow as his Julia and Ashley Dixon as O'Brien.  Giuliano is less world weary than Toby - it's as though he still has some hope left.  Dreda is softer than Martha is Julia.  Together they were terrific and the final moments were incredibly moving.  Ashley Dixon is a hugely sinister O'Brien.  The whole cast was tremendous.

 

After the show the theatre hosted a post-performance Q&A with David Nixon, Dreda Blow and Dominique LaRose that was really interesting.  One of the things I had half realised but had confirmed is that the Hate Scenes are largely improvised so can be different from performance to performance.

 

On Saturday afternoon I was thrilled to bits to see Jeremy Curnier and Mlindi Kulashe making their debuts as Winston and O'Brien.  Antoinette Brooks-Daw was their Julia. Mlindi has proved over and over again that, despite his million-watt smile, he is very good at nasty-people roles and his performance as O'Brien had a really hard, sinister edge.  Antoinette was sublime in the role of Julia, leading Winston into small acts of rebellion.  Jeremy is growing in stature with every performance these days and he gave an intelligent and moving reading of the role of Winston.  I think the final scene, where he is forced to watch the screen showing how he and Julia had been overlooked all the time, was the most heart-wrenching performance I have seen.  

 

Toby, Martha and Javier managed to exceed their brilliant performance of Thursday.   I came out of the performance emotionally drained on Saturday night!

 

I must mention Matthew Topliss who performed the role of Charrington at 2 of the performances I saw.  His portrayal has a suspicious, sinister feel right from the start - a great performance.

 

So 1984 does not get any happier but I have seen more and more in this work every time I have seen it.  Everyone in Northern Ballet performs it with total commitment.  Most of the audience in Edinburgh seemed to agree with me judging by the cheers at the end of each performance and the positive comments I overheard as people were walking out.

 

On Saturday morning I went on the Festival Theatre tour which turned out to be absolutely fascinating.  Not only were we able to go onto the stage but we had a comprehensive tour of the highways and byways of the theatre with lots of anecdotes and heard all about the tragic fire of 1911 when The Great Lafayette along with many of his cast and crew perished.  If you should be in Edinburgh on the first Saturday of a month it is well worth booking on to!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I've just caught up with my recording of this - impressively filmed (not too much chopping around, and plenty of fairly close-up shots of Batley giving a good opportunity to appreciate his dramatic talents), and good to have a permanent record of the Leebolt/Batley partnership.

 

However, one thing does worry me: the brighter parts of the action on-screen on the back.  Even filtered through a TV camera lens, they looked extremely bright.  If I do book to go and see this at Sadler's Wells, am I going to have to sit there for large sections of the performance with my hands over my eyes in the hope of avoiding triggering a migraine?  What's the experience of those who've seen it live?

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Is it just me or does it feel like a fairly lukewarm response to this - with the exception of Janet, of course.

I watched the recording recently and to be honest, the choreography was just OK and the standard of dancing didn't really leave me impressed.

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The audience reaction has been anything but lukewarm at all of the performances I have seen.

 

The vast majority of the press reviews were also very positive.

 

You can't get away from the fact that 1984 is very bleak and downbeat and there is a lot of repetitive choreography to show the sheer drudgery and oppressiveness of people's lives. On that basis I find it a compelling piece of dance theatre and IMHO we have been treated to some outstanding performances.

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Is it just me or does it feel like a fairly lukewarm response to this - with the exception of Janet, of course.

I watched the recording recently and to be honest, the choreography was just OK and the standard of dancing didn't really leave me impressed.

 

I have seen it twice - once in West Yorkshire Playhouse a few days after its première and again in Manchester a few weeks later. 

 

I was somewhat underwhelmed when I saw it in Leeds even though I had the chance to quiz the choreographer about his production. I first saw it immediately after the Dutch National Ballet's gala which had been excellent and I put my disappointment down to the old adage that the best is the enemy of the good.  

 

I wasn't any more enthusiastic when I saw it the second time.  The Palace was nowhere near full and although several members of the audience clapped enthusiastically I would say that the applause was polite rather than rapturous.

 

I am not saying that the ballet is bad, There are in fact bits that I like a lot. But on the whole I think there are better works in the company's repertoire.

 

Except for The Nutcracker just before Christmas the last show from Northern that I really enjoyed as the opening night of Madame Butterfly and Hampson's Perpetuum Mobile in Doncaster which was excellent.   Especially the Hampson where the company was at its very best.   It was one of the best performances that I saw all year,   As I say, I didn't go a bundle on 1984. Wuthering Heights in Bradford was OK but I have seen better. Nixon's Swan Lake was not my cup of tea at all.   I am looking forward to Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre and also to Maillot's R & J again.

 

I really miss the triple bill at the Stanley and Audrey Theatre which is one of the the best things the company does each year.   They don't seem to be doing it this year, possibly because the Linbury is dark.

 

Of course, all this is a matter of taste and one man's meat is another man's poison. I am very glad that Janet and others like 1984 and I wish I could share her enthusiasm for the work.

Edited by terpsichore
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Alison, they are very bright. To me, they seem more so looking up at the stage than when I saw them on the flat at WYP. I can't comment on how they seem looking down at them.

 

Thanks, Janet.  Maybe I'll bear that in mind and go for the Second Circle if I go.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

I was at Sadller's Wells last week and saw the Thursday matinee and the final 3 performances of this run.

 

There were no new castings - it was Jeremy Curnier/Antoinette Brooks-Daw/Mlindi Kulashe on Thursday matinee; Giuliano Containi/Dreda Blow/Ashley Dixon on Saturday afternoon and Toby Batley/Martha Leebolt/Javier Torres on Friday and Saturday evenings.

 

1984 is undoubtedly bleak, you see all the hope knocked out of Winston and Julia.  As I have seen more performances I have thought over and over again how intelligent Jonathan Watkins has been in his interpretation of the book and I greatly admire and appreciate the production.  It is quite hard to say that one has enjoyed such a downbeat story but I have enjoyed the quality of the performances I have seen.

 

Saturday evening marked Martha and Toby's final performances as full-time members of the company.  It was a remarkable performance with both dancers reaching even greater heights in their interpretations of the roles of Julia and Winston.  The duet that ends act 1 was just glorious.  They have become such an established partnership over the last 5 or 6 years that they dance as one and yet still find more nuances in the choreography.  The end of the piece is as moving and thought provoking as ever.  It was a great performance.

 

Best wishes to Martha and Toby for the future.

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