Birmingham Royal Ballet's 'Fire & Fury' Double Bill
Early November saw Birmingham Royal Ballet take centre stage at Sadler’s Wells in London with their new double bill, Fire and Fury. At first glance, a programme that only lasts a couple of hours including an interval might not seem worth making the effort to attend, but I can tell you that it was worth it.
The programme opened with The King Dances, a piece I had heard of but never seen. It’s based around the court of Louis XIV and explores the journey that male dancing took from its beginnings at that court. Funny to think we largely have King Louis to thank for our mad obsessions with ballet! When the piece started I could feel myself slip into a slight eye roll, concerned I was about to watch something resembling those weird stylised videos you watch in school that teach bored kids about The Tudors. Or in this case, Louis XIV. It couldn’t have been further away from that, thank goodness, and my eyes secured themselves fully on watching the performance. Firstly a special mention must go to Peter Mumford who designed the lighting. Dancers wore wonderful costumes (designed by Katrina Lindsay) inspired by traditional 17th century clothing and they carried large flames onto the stage. This made everything feel so intimate and from the time. I really felt I was part of the court, gathered to watch the young king put on a show. I also love how the light was used to manipulate when the audience saw the dancers enter the stage, and the dimness really recreated a night at court. It also contrasted well to the brightness of the light in the final scenes where the Sun King appeared in his dazzling gold tracksuit - note to self, rock this look on NYE.
'The King Dances' - photo copyright Andrew Ross
Lachlan Monaghan gave an intelligent performance as Louis XIV, showing his vulnerability well during the nightmare scene. In his long flowing blonde wig, he looked every inch like a Royal who created such an elegant art form. I thought that Yasuo Atsuji was equally wonderful as ‘La Nuit’, giving an ominous presence throughout the piece. The choreography looks very difficult but he breezed through it with ease. The 17th century style dancing, with lifted elbows and posed stances must ache a ton but he was elegant and looked very much ‘of the period.’
I fell in the love with the music which was composed by Stephen Montague. It really built up to the nightmare scene and paid such strong homage to 17th century court music, but with a modern twist. I also felt that David Bintley’s choreography was a perfect match to the music, fitting in with every note. I felt myself really take in the music and focus on it, which I think says a lot about what a strong score Montague has composed. To want to listen to it, outside of this performance, is a success in my opinion, and I would happily sit on the tube reading the Evening Standard with Montague’s notes playing in my ears.
'The King Dances' - photo copyright Andrew Ross
The second piece in the bill was Ignite which was choreographed by Juanjo Arques. I don’t think it was anything ground breaking and to be frank, I’m not sure how memorable a piece this is; however, parts of it I really enjoyed and would like to see again. It didn’t help that all I really knew about it was that it was loosely based on J.M.W.Turner’s painting ‘the Burning of the House of Lords and Commons.’ A literal choreographer perhaps would have had dancers dressed as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn running around the stage with flame-red tutus spinning from every direction to capture the essence of such a painting. Arques, luckily, wasn’t this literal, but I think his downfall was not being literal enough. The cast list tried to explain his inspiration, but whatever was written in the blurb and whatever the inspiration was, it really wasn’t conveyed at all on stage.
'Ignite' - photo copyright Andrew Ross
The piece started with dancers running around in coloured open shirt-like jackets. I thought they all represented Turner himself, running around in his arty attire, but I was later told they were more likely metaphorical for the licking flames in Parliament. The summary on the cast list really focusses on what happens in the painting and how Arques depicts this, but I do think it’s a bit of a stretch as I found very little to relate what I read to what I saw. With all of this being said, I came out quite liking it. The pas de deux between Delia Mathews and Mathias Dingman, as River and Sky, was serene and delicate, if a little long. Both wonderful dancers and both really creating a sense of calm after the storm. I also loved watching Celine Gittens and Brandon Lawrence power it up as ‘Fire’ and much of their choreography was to be admired.
There were things to like here, but something was missing. With that being said though, it’s always a pleasure to see Birmingham Royal Ballet hit the stage in London and long may that continue.
*Thanks to Emma Goodacre, Sadler's Wells and Birmingham Royal Ballet