Broken. Motionhouse

A colleague had to give up tickets for Broken thanks to a work trip. Although contemporary is not really my thing I always like to try new things so headed off to opening night with a friend who is a fan of all things contemporary.

First up the 'music' or as we both agreed noise. It simply felt computer generated and didn't really drive the production forward. But put that aside the production was a series of disjointed scenes. Each scene incorporated nature breaking down from rock structures to volcanoes to caves to an earthquake, the difficulty being that it felt like the scenes were trying to tell a story but just didn't.

In each section the dancers worked with the amazing animations using poles and straps to add an extra dimension to the gymnastic movement. However, at times I felt the dancers distracted from the animations which seemed to move with the sound track instead of against it. The movements seemed jerky and although clearly required strength and skill, you could see the workings rather a smooth movement which would have drawn you in. There was often too much going on at any one time to allow you to focus or take it in and an over reliance on repetition became dull. I also found the exaggerated turn-in difficult and at times a  unattractive angle, although I accept they weren't striving for turn out to me it felt awkward.

All being said there were some good moments particularly the segment where the guys wore head lamps and the girls came in and out of the backdrop. We were also incredibly impressed at the precision the dancers used when interacting with the backdrop and animations. They seemed to hit the right spot every time, right on cue which really made a difference. Others in the audience seemed to love it with whooping and cheering but our overarching opinion was that it hadn't been a wasted evening but we probably wouldn't put this at the top of our watch list again.

Fourgin or Onegin four ways

Until this year I'd not heard of Onegin, however when I received the Royal Opera House magazine and saw that they were doing the ballet and the opera with two different scores by Tchaikovsky I had to see both. Then posters popped up around town for Tatyana which turned out to be a Brazilian contemporary dance company's version of Pushkin's Onegin.

Onegin with the Royal Ballet
I had no expectations of what was coming having not read the story and failing to purchase a programme. However, I was quickly drawn in to the story and the dancing. Marianela Nunez was, as expected, beautiful and you could feel her anguish as Thiago Soare's Onegin cast her off. Meaghan Grace Hinkis debuted in the role of Olga, Tatiana's friend and danced the role with grace, showing joy, teasing and grief. I loved the use of the two curtains at the front of the stage to create a blank corridor which added drama and comic timing as needed. I loved the drama of Onegin's black cape and it added to his despair when he realised that he really had just shot his friend in a duel over Olga who was caught in the middle. Added to a grabbing story and beautiful dancing, the score from Tchaikovsky was perfect, it seemed familiar at times and I left wanting to buy the recording.

One little quibble the set made me feel seasick at times, as the angles on the flat backdrops painted to make the rooms appear square weren't quite right for my eyes making the 'room' pulsate. Luckily the dancing meant I didn't focus on them too much. The verdict? I'll be sure to get tickets next time the Royal Ballet bring Onegin back especially if Nunez and Soares are dancing together again.

One final thing about this performance, the curtain call. An unusual thing to blog about perhaps but this one was special as Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares embraced you could see what they had put into their performance. Vampire Soup caught the moment perfectly on her blog, illustrated by @missbunnyman.

Tatyana with Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker
The evening got off to a good start as the Barbican were offering reseats down to the stalls and getting closer to the action is always welcome. I'd read one review that said you needed to know the story before you watched so I felt smug that I knew the story already. However, I'm not sure it stood me in good stead, I would have been better off viewing this dance piece as an abstract. I found the fact there there could be up to four dancers in each role very confusing, I wanted them to dance the same thing as each other, on reading the programme I discovered they were supposed to represent the different aspects of the characters. as one Royal Ballet dancer can dance beautifully and portray a complex character how come this company failed to portray a character with four dancers.

Eugene Onegin with the Royal Opera
So this was my first proper opera and I was curious and strangely a bit nervous. There were no surtitles in the first act due to a technical hitch which made the long first act very difficult. I also struggled with the Royal Opera's need to have two dancers to play alter egos / young versions of Onegin and Tatiana was distracting and for me a pointless exercise. By the end of the first act I wasn't sold but Act II changed my mind. Pavol Breslik in the role of Lensky brought tears to my eyes so much so that I couldn't read the fixed surtitles and to be contrary I found them distracting in the second half. So the verdict is I'll be back for another opera but perhaps I'll choose a bit more carefully next time.

Eugene Onegin by Pushkin
I decided that I really ought to complete my set of Onegin's with the book and so I downloaded it for my Kindle. I struggled a little with the text and some of the rhyming couplets made me laugh. I felt the book was slow to move and if I'm honest I paused / stopped half way through. I think I will go back to it though I'd like to be able to say I managed to finish all four versions of Onegin.

While I took my time on this post the inspiring Dave Tries Ballet posted on his blog comparing the ballet with Pushkin's novel in verse. A well written interpretation, beautifully illustrated with excerpts, photos and video and I recommend you head over to read his post.

Edinburgh Fringe festival review, part two

I'm sure everyone will pleased to know that the birthday cake turned out great and my grandfather almost recognised it as his old bowling club...

So I'm back now with some more reviews from my time in Edinburgh.

Four and a half star show that I forgot in the previous post...
Rock the Ballet at Assembly on the Mound
I saw so many shows that I forgot about this one which was one of the first I saw. I can't sum this up much better than my original tweet, this is some really hot men and a seemingly token hot girl, doing some of the hottest and freshest choreography I've seen to some rocking tunes. I loved their Argentinian tango with an unusual choice of partner... I switched between laughing, jealousy and drooling in this show and recommend it for anybody who likes dance, it's not just for ballet fanatics. My only point to note is you need to get there early to ensure that you get a good seat and if you're up by the turn on the mound in the queue then head straight upstairs for a clear view.

Four star shows that I enjoyed but not as much as the five and four and a half star shows
Street Dreams at the Underbelly
This was actually the start of my serious day at the Fringe and I went to see it on my brother's text recommendation (which I miraculously received in the Underbelly!). this show documents the life of a little old man living on a rubbish dump, there are no words and the show is accompanied by some lovely haunting tunes from a harmonica, ukele? and flute. What I loved about this show was the fact that although the little old man puppet didn't have a moveable face he somehow changed his expression in line with his mood. I also loved the way the two puppeteers working the puppet were almost part of him but also looking down on him and reacting as an external onlooker a strangely moving facility. I loved the inventive use of rubbish particularly the plastic bag birds and the cheeky banana skins. The one downside was that at 40 minutes I'd kind of got over my wonder a bit but not enough to make me regret seeing this and I would recommend for a quiet morning in Edinburgh.

NewsRevue at the Pleasance Courtyard
Another old favourite this was the last show I saw at the Fringe and was a great way to finish my four days. If you like Have I Got News For you and a bit of Broadway then this is the show for you. You don't even need to follow the news as this summarises all the key stories from the last year so you probably know them all as I'd be surprised if you missed the wedding of the year and Osama Bin Laden's death. I laughed my way through the show although at times I just didn't get it or felt they cut a bit too close to the bone. But a fab way to spend an evening if you've got one spare.

Three star shows that I enjoyed but probably wouldn't see again
David Reed: Shamblehouse at Pleasance Courtyard
The third of the Penny Dreadfuls up at the Fringe with a debut solo show, David's set includes an amazing array of chairs which was incredible but a bit confusing. I saw the preview of this show and it was very much a ramble through the back alleys of David's mind, which I'm not sure was a place I wanted to be... I didn't really get the ghost at the end, it all felt a bit too surreal for me. That said I did laugh at most points through out the sketch and my friend that I was with loved this show. I ran into one of David's team a couple of days later who said they'd been working on it and it was much improved so I'd give it a go and see whether you are compatible with David's sense of humour.

I'm slowly getting through all my reviews and hope to get some more up later in the week. Enjoy your Fringe...