Last Updated on November 21, 2023
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 years of Company Wayne McGregor.
The ballet is based on Jim Henson’s 1982 cult fantasy film A Dark Crystal featuring exquisite puppets (which also had a poorly received Netflix prequel made in 2019). Whilst this new ballet is based on the film, this is an exploration of its themes rather than a retelling. McGregor pulls out two central concerns from the original to focus on in UniVerse: the dying earth, Thra, and the fracturing of its society into two opposing people. Unlike the film, there is no protagonist (or even any named roles) and less emphasis on good versus evil (think more two sides of the same coin).
Jordan James Bridge and Rebecca Bassett-Graham were particularly captivating, easily managing to cut through the sometimes hectic visuals with body contorting movements. The choreography is muscular and sometimes aggressive. In one section the music drops out to reveal the sound of limbs hitting the floor as the dancers hiss. Overall, the pacing is very quick – in places it almost feels cut off halfway through a phrase.
Also much like Eurovision, you can’t always make out what’s going on. McGregor’s chapters read like a series of rituals led by gods or elders. Although the choreography is definitely contemporary, it feels like a long forgotten language that can only sometimes be interpreted.
McGregor’s UniVerse appeals to the senses rather than bombarding the mind with facts on the climate crisis. Rather than characters, dancers embody elements in lycra cat suits. Half of the time the feeling is earthy with familiar iconography of earth’s environmental crises, before departing for the completely celestial and alien. Spoken word from Isaiah Hull keeps the viewer grounded with passages about the cost of living crisis and the problems facing future generations.
It must be said, the lighting and projection at times steal the show. Opening with a video sequence from Ravi Deepres, projection is centred from the start. The dancers are sandwiched with two transparent screens that allow the projections to achieve uncanny depth, making it seem as though they really are dancing under the sea with a goldfish swimming above their heads. Occasionally, the viewer is dragged away from the dancing by such effects, but overall it is very effective.
Joel Cadbury’s atmospheric score knows when to drift into the background and when to be front and centre. The intricacy of the puppets in the original film are references by costumes and headpieces designed by Dr Alex Box and Philip Delamore. Abstractly printed lycra with structural additions work successfully, as do the juxtaposing baggy black tracksuits.
UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey is at times spellbinding, using multimedia to great effect. The flip-side is that at times the dancing is the least attention grabbing part of a densely layered production. Although it portrays a bleak outlook of the issues we face, UniVerse is still hopeful that there is a path back to unity.
UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey
13 May – 4 June 2023
Linbury Theatre,
Royal Opera House
Bow Street,
London
WC2E 9DD
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