Sum-up
Wonderful to see Adam Cooper and Sarah Wildor on stage where they should be. However this seems the Timmy Mallett approach to putting on a show - it's pretty unsubtle entertainment and after the first 30 minutes I thought I'd scream if I saw another thigh or breast being fondled. Good to get the dance message out to new punters but I don't think this is going to convince many to see more and that's a shame.
Background
Adam Cooper and Sarah Wildor, partners in life, partners in dance, are both ex-Royal Ballet Principals moved along into a more 'audience-friendly' work, initially thanks to Matthew Bourne. Cooper was memorably the Swan in Bourne's Swan Lake which made him instantly a star known in living rooms across the land. Lately, via Adam Cooper Productions, he has moved to take more control of what he does and to 'experiment' with shows that aren't just dance. He and Sarah got some good reviews for putting on the musical 'On Your Toes' two years ago and Les Liaisons Dangereuses continues with a fresh popularist look at integrating voice, dance and drama. The work actually premiered in Japan earlier this year.
Story
French 18th century tale of love, corruptive competition, seduction, innocence, betrayal, revenge...
Music
Philip Feeney can always be relied on to deliver a score incorporating any styles you want - in this case he does period minuets / chamber music and Gothic horror with muttered babbling and spine tingling wind chimes in moments of darkness. Effective, it well supports the production rather than leading it.
Sets and Design
The high point is the tasteful designs by Lez Brotherston. The set is an all-enveloping box affair portraying a large French salon with mirrors and French windows all around. Partitions slide across and with changed lighting they create a more intimate space, like the bedroom.
Nothing seems cheaply or shoddily made and my only quibble is that Wildor seems to have her hair styled in a most unflattering fashion.
Sarah Wildor and Adam Cooper in Les Liaisons Dangereuses
© John Ross
Choreography
There is not a lot of dance - much of the show is taken with grappling bodies, broody, knowing stares and social mime. Grappling bodies can be fun but there is little variety on show. There are some pas de deux and basic arabesques here and there but it's not a dance show - more a show of bodies. I found none of the pdd particularly memorable - Cooper has many attributes but he's not a choreographer.
Dancers and Singers
Nothing too challenging in the dance department (and given the ingredients that's terrible) this is more about how those on stage tell the plot. For some to know that Cooper does a slow strip out of a leather trenchcoat ensemble will be enough to get them there soonest. Sadly the singing was unintelligible - I was near the front and it may be by some quirk that those further back might make out what was actually being sung. Rather frustrating since this was one of the innovations of the production.
Does it Work?
I don't think so - not for me anyway. It seems to replace, rather than augment, choreography and dance with obvious acting, sex and singing, none of which really make up the shortfall. Good to see somebody in dance trying to reach out to a mass audience but it feels like 'BalletLight' taken to new levels of lightness. On the other hand Riverdance sells mightily well and who am I to go all highbrow on you?
|
