Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
Directed by Stewart Wood the production combines the award winning talents of Nitin Sawhney (music) and Gauri Sharma Tripathi (choreography), opulent costume and a small but magnificent cast to bring this complex and fantastical story to the audience in all its drama, violence and majesty.
Presided over by a benevolent yet menacing blue Krishna the narrative follows Draupidi as she flouts her destiny and brings about peace among two warring families; though not before blood is shed in an exquisitely choreographed battle scene in which the actors first smear themselves in fake blood then engage in long and synchronised combat using huge stakes. The range of skills in the admittedly small cast is impressive, a mixture of Asian and Western members pull off singing in both English and Hindi, impressive physical feats of traditional and modern dance as well as convincingly playing several key roles apiece.
The heroine’s marriage to five brothers initially raises a few eyebrows but quickly makes perfect sense in the context of the play
The huge metallic set is both spectacular in itself and a fitting antidote to the sensory overload of the music, dance and costume. The creative use of different coloured lengths of silk similarly reinforces this minimalism in the face of excess. The fact that the majority of soundtrack is pre-recorded was initially disappointing but it soon becomes clear by its complexity why this is necessary. It also means that the live singing which occurs at regular intervals is an extra treat. The final song which combined both the Western and Indian melodic traditions was a particular triumph, if anything it was a shame that this wasn’t more of feature of the production.
If you can drag your attention away from the physical spectacle long enough the play certainly succeeds in engaging with the themes of the text: duty and the relationship between the individual and society. Admittedly, the heroine’s marriage to five brothers initially raises a few eyebrows, but quickly makes perfect sense in the context of these issues.
The Mahabharata finished its run in Manchester on Saturday but continues to Edinbrugh, Oxford and Birmingham before finishing the tour in Leicester on the 8th of July.
