Mark Bruce - Return to Heaven

[Pas de Quatre]

This is now touring. I went to see it last night at Lighthouse, Poole and was completely enthralled.  It will be in London at Wilton's Music Hall, 28 February to 14 March and then continues the tour.  Go and see it if you can. 

 

From the programme "The tale is non-linear told as a series of flashbacks in a world where reality meets the imagination".  It tells the story of two explorers and publicity mentions Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I also felt there were echoes of The Mummy, 2001 A Space Oddysey, a little of Dr. Who and also his earlier work Made in Heaven.  The score is an eclectic mix of classical, modern and popular music including some of Mark Bruce's own compositions.  The six dancers are all excellent, lead by the fabulous Eleanor Duval and Dane Hurst and their final pas de deux was intensively moving.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Pas de Quatre
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[Kate_N]

Oh thank you for this @Pas de Quatre I saw Bruce's Dracula and loved it - I don't usually ike "story" or narrative ballets, but his melding of story and choreography was extraordinary. 

[Sim]

11 hours ago, Kate_N said:

Oh thank you for this @Pas de Quatre I saw Bruce's Dracula and loved it - I don't usually ike "story" or narrative ballets, but his melding of story and choreography was extraordinary. 

Agree.  I loved it.  

[Pas de Quatre]

Yes - I loved Dracula too! 

[Sim]

Here's my review of Dracula from 2014...I hope this new piece is as good!!

 

I went to see Mark Bruce’s Dracula at the Arts Depot in London last night. I saw one piece of Bruce’s work, back in about 2003, at The Place here in London. It was one of the worst things I have ever seen live, but the flip side of that is that when I was spouting forth to a dancer friend of mine about how awful it was and why, he told me that I should check out ballet.co.uk and start posting some thoughts up there. Well…..here I am, 11 years later, still spouting forth!

 

However, this time I have come to praise Mark Bruce, not bury him. Burying is a good place to start talking about Dracula, as of course there are coffins involved, and, going in and out of the ground, the undead who have been buried but aren’t now…... This sounds trite, but there is nowhere in this piece where you don’t totally believe what is going on, despite the somewhat (to a 21st century audience) ludicrous story. However, as with the Bram Stoker novel, this isn’t to be taken literally; it is a metaphor for many things (my husband has a theory that it was really about the actor Henry Irving, whose amanuensis Stoker was….he drained Stoker dry, sucked the lifeblood out of him and only came alive at night!) and all of these possibilities are explored in this marvellous piece of dance theatre, which is one of the best things I have seen on a stage for a very long time.

 

There are the three vampire brides, beautifully danced by all three dancers. But this is not only dancing; it is also acting, and very convincing acting at that. These girls veer from terrifying, gnashing, blood sucking creatures to the three graces, and various stages in between. They are sexy, they are scary, and gosh are they good. I found it interesting that they, and Dracula himself, always weep after each attack, as if they loathe what they are condemned to doing for the rest of time, and abhor the fact that they can’t help themselves. There is the battle between good and evil, between God and the unbelieving, between virtue and tainting and sexuality and repression. All of these themes are beautifully conveyed, even when in a very dark and disturbing way. However, aside from the gore and the dark Gothic theme to this piece, there are many moments of beauty and even some of comedy. The whole cast, each performing multiple characters, delivers the goods.

 

Jonathan Goddard was not your conventional Dracula with a cape and a top hat who turns into a bat at night. He was in trainers and jeans, and aside from the rather Lou Ferigno-ish makeup looked just like the rest of us….which is why we are scared of him. His depth of characterisation, together with that of the three girls, renders this whole piece believable and therefore frightening. Not in an ‘I need to hide behind the sofa’ kind of way, but it makes you think about the many fears, dark things and dark places in all of us. He screams, he cries, he howls, he agonises….and we are there with him, willing him to finally find peace for his tortured soul. Add to this his smooth, fluid dancing, and here is a creature that won’t easily be forgotten.

 

This wonderful piece would not have been half as spectacular as it is without many fertile imaginations converging to create one of the finest sets/props/costumes I have seen in a new production for years. Majestic animal masks, very effective costumes (and many of them as there are changes involved for each different character), very clever props and my goodness, a set of grey gates that is as Gothic as you will find anywhere. A lovely contrast to the grey and dingy demimonde inhabited by these creatures is the white dove used to deliver letters between the Harkers….this reminds us that amidst the gloom there is light, and purity (not to mention the religious symbolism of the white dove). Add in the most atmospheric lighting on any stage in London, and some dry ice, and the effect starts the mind turning and the heart beating before Jonathan appears onstage and beautifully dances his introduction. For once, a bit of dark lighting was just the thing, but somehow the audience was never kept in the dark at all; this lighting designer managed to convey the gloom of a Victorian night without depriving us of the ability to see what was going on. The choice of music is eclectic, ranging from Mozart to Ligeti to Schnittke, and hits the spot perfectly for each part of the piece that it accompanies.

 

I cannot praise this production too highly; Dracula has already won awards and is up for more….I do hope it wins many as it deserves them. I am so very sorry that I could only catch it once, but if any of you can get to The Old Market in Brighton on December 2nd, 3rd or 4th……get thee hence and have one of the best theatrical experiences available to us at the moment.

 

Choreography/Production and some music: Mark Bruce

Music: Various composers, recorded

Set Design: Phil Eddols

Lighting Design: Guy Hoare

 

Dracula: Jonathan Goddard

Three vampire brides: Nicole Guarino, Grace Jabbari and Hannah Kidd

[Pas de Quatre]

"This wonderful piece would not have been half as spectacular as it is without many fertile imaginations converging to create one of the finest sets/props/costumes I have seen in a new production for years. Majestic animal masks, very effective costumes (and many of them as there are changes involved for each different character), very clever props and ..."

 

Sim - this could equally have been written about Return to Heaven!