Welcome to the NYCB dancers; sensitive, speedy and spectacular The New York City Ballet (NYCB) has returned to London after sixteen years, performing from 7-10 March in Sadler’s Wells Theatre. The company was last in London in 2008 and has been greatly missed, so there was a great air of expectation in the audience last […]
Swan Lake – Royal Ballet at ROH
Revival of Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake at The Royal Opera House. Liam Scarlett’s 2018 production of Swan Lake for the Royal Ballet, with glorious sets designed by John McFarlane, is a sumptuous show which has won many accolades. Now on its third revival, this fairytale ballet has its roots in German and Russian folklore. With […]
The Nutcracker – Royal Ballet at ROH
It’s the first night of the Nutcracker – it must be Christmas! Ask any balletomane what heralds the start of the festive season and the answer will always be The Nutcracker. And, in my view, there’s nowhere more special to watch The Nutcracker in London than The Royal Opera House, with its opulent red velvet […]
Death Trap, Journeys between Life and Death
A Thought-Provoking Double Bill at Sadler’s Wells Death Trap is the title of a thought-provoking double bill, recently shown at Sadler’s Wells, of the dance works Cerberus and Goat, created and directed by the choreographer Ben Duke for the dancers of the Rambert. Cerberus was premiered in May 2022 and Goat in October 2017, which […]
The Limit – Linbury Theatre
Hayward and Campbell captivate in The Limit The Limit is a new piece based on the play Lemons lemons lemons lemons lemons by Sam Steiner, seen at the Harold Pinter back in February 2023 (read our review here). A hush-law is introduced that reduces the number of words a person can speak in a day […]
The Royal Opera House 2023 Autumn/Winter Season Preview
An Exciting New Season at Covent Garden It has been a turbulent year for opera in the UK. The government seems hell-bent on destroying the delicate cultural infrastructure that glues the art form together and in that context, it is good to see the Royal Opera House respond with a punchy new season with some […]
The Great Gatsby – Northern Ballet At Sadler’s Wells
Story Telling in Dance from Northern Ballet. F Scott Fitzgerald’s tale of the glamorous but tragic Jay Gatsby, set in the 1920s, is the basis for David Nixon’s iconic ballet of the same name. A complex story of unrequited love with an undercurrent of subterfuge and treachery, the superficial high life led by the eponymous […]
UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey review
Feast for the senses with an urgent message It’s got lycra, a dazzling light show, strong political undertones and a fair bit of skin: no it’s not Eurovision, it’s Wayne McGregor’s UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey. This new ballet at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury theatre focuses on the future of mankind, whilst celebrating thirty […]
Woolf Works at the Royal Ballet
The remarkable Alessandra Ferri wows as Virginia Woolf Wayne McGregor’s first full-length work for the Royal Ballet in 2015 won the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production – and it is now back at the Royal Ballet. Woolf Works features Alessandra Ferri (now almost 60) reprising her emotional performance in the titular role created […]
Ballet Black anniversary double bill
Ballet Black ‘Say it Loud’ at the Linbury Theatre Following its premiere earlier this year, Ballet Black brings its celebratory twentieth-anniversary double bill to the Royal Opera House Linbury Theatre. Say It Loud opens the show, an autobiographical work about the twenty-year history of the company choreographed and directed by Ballet Black’s Founder and Artistic […]