Rambert Reviews 'Cruel Garden' reviews

Cruel Garden is about Lorca, the Spanish poet and playwright, who was born 100 years ago this year and was murdered in 1936, it is thought by fascists. He knew Dali and mixed surrealism with a deep love of Spanish tradition, in his work. One of his stories inspired MacMillan's Las Hermanas which the RB have recently brought back to much critical acclaim. Cruel Garden is not an account of Lorca's life, but more a drawing together of real episodes from his life/stories and some of the struggles he had with his demons told in an appropriately surreal way.

Unusually, Cruel Garden is 90 minutes long and all without a break. In fact it starts before that: as you enter, the stage is set as a bull ring, with haze, smoke and drums setting the mood for the fight and spectacle. The fight is for the life of Lorca and the bull is a tormentor figure, part fascist and part lover perhaps. In fact Lorca is killed twice - at the beginning and end of the ballet. In case you are thinking... this is *not* one fight too many and the bull fight scenes are scarily violent and feature some of the best choreography. Simon Cooper is the Bull and it's a part he was designed for: he has the bulk and size to carry it off to perfection but his acting and mannerisms grab you has he taunts and goads and then then gains the ascendancy and dismissively dispatches his tormentor.

Lorca, or The Poet, was played by Conor O'Brien, like Cooper part of the first cast for this revival. Its a role that he too inhabits as a second skin, part victim, part leader, part actor, part woman. I could watch it many, many times (er.. four times already) and still find new things and new depths in his acting - indeed the whole piece. Paul Liburd also has to be praised: typecast as a negro and dancing to an original blues soundtrack, he has a precision and conviction you rarely see in dance companies. As dancers go he is world class and I was reminded of the controlled power and presence of Eddie Shellman when he danced Agon with the RB a few years ago.

Cruel Garden also features some wonderful singing from Francois Testory as St Gabriel and Judy Slater as the Cafe owner. I'm not easily convinced by such muti-media confections, but in the very finest traditions, all the collaborators have delivered something greater than the sum of the parts.

For the Rambert women there is not really so much - with various states of conviction they go about emoting as mourners, family members, dancers etc. But overall the company rises to the challenge of such a full scale narrative piece incredibly well. It's certainly a Rambert I have never seen before and I would love to see more.

Cruel Garden was conceived by Lindsay Kemp, choreographed by Christopher Bruce, designed by Ralph Koltai and with music by Carlos Miranda - who around that time was Ballet Rambert's Assistant Music Director and company pianist. 21 years on I think they should all get together again and thrill us some more......