BALLET NIGHTS at the Lanterns Studio Theatre

★★★★

“It’s a privilege to be this up close and personal to such exceptional dance talent”

In London’s docklands, nestled between high rise blocks of flats, is a rather unremarkable building, only conspicuous for its brick exterior next to the glass and chrome of its neighbours. But for six nights this autumn, the Lanterns Theatre plays host to the ‘world premiere’ season of Ballet Nights, promising to be quite a spectacular string of classic and contemporary dance performance from established names and new voices.

Jamiel Devernay-Laurence’s ambitious variety show concept isn’t quite intuitive to grasp. Is it a way to continue working for some of ballet’s recent retirees? Is it a showcase of new work from up and coming choreographers? Devernay-Laurence’s slightly jumbled delivery as compère for the evening doesn’t clear things up much. Star names like Steven McRae might be the draw for many, but the new works are just as exciting and all the more intriguing.

The seating in the studio theatre means no member of the audience can be more than 20 metres away from the performers. It’s a privilege to be this up close and personal to such exceptional dance talent – seeing the sweat forming on backs and brows, hearing sharp intakes of breath and deep, lengthy exhales. But it’s the facial expressions that are most arresting.

Performers from the Royal Ballet prove why they command the awe and praise of the dance world. Melissa Hamilton, first soloist with the Royal Ballet, is a revelation opening and closing the programme. The expressiveness of her interpretation of Mikhail Fokine’s Dying Swan moved me to tears – her darting eyes full of fear and incomprehension at the death that’s to befall her. Performing Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto with Reece Clarke, their lithe limbs find infinite extension. Steven McRae oozes cool with Czárdás, a tap number performed in concert with guest violinist Vasko Vassilev and house pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel. McRae owns the stage and he knows it – with just a ripple of his fingers you read his machismo, strength and daring.

“a uniquely intimate experience with truly extraordinary dancers”

This first programme from Ballet Nights has a lot to offer and there are new works from choreographers Gavin McCaig, Jordan James Bridge, and Peter Leung of New English Ballet Theatre. These all bring excitement in their originality and performers expertise. Taylor and Nunes dart across the stage together, with Nunes linking an impressive number of chaîné turns to set the starting gun in McCaig’s You Will Get Your Wants. Jordan James Bridge’s musicality is spellbinding, seamlessly blending classical traditions with hip hop and club dance movements in a way that was truly bewitching.

There are some clunkier moments. Isadora, presented by Yorke Dance Project, is a strange piece to showcase with the lack of narrative in such a short extract making its distractingly sexual choreography feel gratuitous – the dancers themselves looked a bit sheepish when time came for their bow. House pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel, performing on what the audience is told is Elton John’s grand piano, gets two solo moments; and whilst the first Chopin piece was excellent, Ballade No.2, in B Minor by Liszt felt slightly over indulgent, reinforced by a preemptive applause from one audience member.

Ballet Nights offers a uniquely intimate experience with truly extraordinary dancers. The whole evening, from the thick, matte programmes to the dramatic lighting, layered and textured costumes to even the decor in the backstage bar has been carefully considered and finished to a high production standard. It’s a commendable effort.

BALLET NIGHTS at the Lanterns Studio Theatre

Reviewed on 30th September 2023

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Deborah Jaffe

This review is for Ballet Nights 001. There are several performances of different programmes between September and November at Lanterns Studio Theatre. Click on logo below to visit website

Top rated shows in September

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater At 65 | ★★★★★ | September 2023

Beautiful Thing | ★★★★★ | September 2023

It’s Headed Straight Towards Us | ★★★★★ | September 2023

Kate | ★★★★★ | September 2023

Rhythm Of Human | ★★★★★ | September 2023

Strategic Love Play | ★★★★★ | September 2023

The Brief Life & Mysterious Death Of Boris III, King Of Bulgaria | ★★★★★ | September 2023

Ballet Nights

Click here to read all our latest reviews

★★★

“an intriguing concept and one that will probably divide audiences, and lead to some interesting discussions”

It’s a tall order to expect an audience, while listening to a show’s musical number, to appreciate that certain lyrics are anagrams of the following line. Or that certain letters within those lyrics, if traced onto a sheet of paper, form a picture. The programme does devote a few pages of instructions for this lexical trickery, and often the words are projected high onto the back wall, but rather than being drawn into this distraction, the overall tendency is to just let it go over our heads. Nevertheless, at least we now know what an acrostic, or a lipogram is (google it).

The title suggests that all is not what it seems, and indeed there is an exaggerated surreal quality to Henry Parkman Biggs’ “Trompe L’oeil”. And like the artists it professes to emulate (Dali, Magritte, Escher…) there is more to see the longer you look. But rather than being given the freedom to make our own interpretations of the abstract mayhem, the message is very clear and one sided. We know where Biggs’ sympathies lie, even if we are never sure what story he is trying to tell.

There are many strands to the show – two that predominate. We have the rise and fall of Donald Trump, interwoven with what the poster tagline describes as ‘a queer love story’. The two are connected but in the same way that bedding plants and weeds might smother each other if left unattended. At the top of the show, Trump makes a deal with Vladimir Putin, after which Putin quite literally has Trump by the balls. Putin orchestrates Trump’s rise to power but only on the condition he can attach a remote-controlled clamp to his genitals which he tightens every time Trump strays away from his master plan. Both characters are larger than life and Sarah Louise Hughes’ Bond villain Putin (referred to as ‘The Imitator’) spars well with Emer Dineen’s cartoon buffoon Trump. Meanwhile two lovebirds Rip (a Republican in denial, played by Alex Wadham) and staunch Democrat Demi (Dominic Booth) eke out a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ scenario, complicated by the fact that Rip is implausibly unaware of Demi’s true gender.

“The ambition has to be admired, and the pace is frenetic, anarchic and chaotic”

Less a musical, more of a song cycle, the musical numbers intermix its influences, from cabaret to rap, to disposable pop. Delivered with high energy and soaring skill by the talented, fine-voiced ensemble they are catchy and instantly familiar. Although there is a tenuous thread connecting them, each number could be a stand-alone work in itself; although in a live setting we haven’t the time or inclination to analyse and pore over the intricacies. Like the overall concept, it is all just too clever for its own good and a touch self-indulgent.

The ambition has to be admired, and the pace is frenetic, anarchic and chaotic. The cast rise to the physical and vocal challenges with ease. It is larger than life, and totally bonkers. Yet despite the high entertainment value we are left with little to grip on to. The wider appeal is therefore constricted, which is a shame as there are some gems of observation, humour and satire to be found. But it is difficult to establish what this piece is trying to achieve. And it is a bit of a contradiction: it is bold, brash and funny but at the same time requires prior knowledge of the author’s writing technique. In some ways it appears progressive, yet it closes with the rather simplistic message that “we can disagree peacefully”.

The allusions to illusion in “Trompe L’oeil” are misleading – the show doesn’t quite match its title. But it is an intriguing concept and one that will probably divide audiences, and lead to some interesting discussions. Let’s hope they can ‘disagree peacefully’.

Category Archives: Reviews

Ballet Nights

★★★★

Lanterns Studio Theatre

BALLET NIGHTS at the Lanterns Studio Theatre

★★★★

“It’s a privilege to be this up close and personal to such exceptional dance talent”

“a uniquely intimate experience with truly extraordinary dancers”