I recently watched Life is a Dream, a Rambert ballet at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. This piece is choreographed by Kim Brandstrup.
We start in an old rehearsal room where a director has the day's rehearsals running fresh in his head as he drifts to sleep. As he dreams, he reimagines the performances and we are taken beyond the old rehearsal room as we travel through his dreams.
This piece was definitely thought-provoking. If I'm being honest, I didn't particularly enjoy this piece. Whilst the visuals and dancing were good, I think it was really let down by the story, because I was left confused from the get go. I think it was definitely an interesting piece to perform, and a bold choice as the story is as popular as say, Cinderella. A risk, that perhaps, in my opinion, didn't pay off. For me, the story was quite unclear, and the programme didn't help me to make any more sense of what exactly was going on. I would assume that the themes of the play were hopes and dreams. Taking what you dream about and applying that to real life to better yourself.
Probably my favourite part was the duet with the directors. We get to see a different dance style, a reflection and mirroring of the moves, and in a sense, a battle with his inner demons. I think the piece was executed quite well by the dancers and the white shirts that they were wearing really helped to make them stand out from the background and have the main focus of the audience on them.
The projections helped to keep the piece alive, and kept you guessing, trying to figure out which path the story had gone down next - so in a sense, they definitely helped to give the performance an atmosphere to it. The dancing was above average I'd say. Whilst it is far better than anything I can do, I've watched a lot of Strictly Come Dancing so I do know what to keep an eye out for - I think that some of the moves could have been finished off better, and some of the background dancers seemed to be lacking in enthusiasm.
Overall, I think it was an interesting piece, and good on them for taking a risky leap like this. If you are a fan of mystery, then maybe you should give this a watch.
Here are some notes I made on the production:
Dance studio reflecting an asylum
Long sleeves imitating straight jackets
Doublets and breeches
Long sleeved close fitting tops and pleated skirts
Skirts flow and help to emphasise movements
2 people for each role - reflected
Shrill music
Windows like a prison cell
Bare minimum of furniture - again reflects a prison/asylum
Black/dark green coloured costumes - blending in with the walls/foliage
Lights projected onto the walls
Repetition of movements representing different layers of the dream state?
Hopes and dreams
Confusing like a dream?