Tag Archives: Rebecca Crankshaw

Bon Voyage Bob

Bon Voyage, Bob
★★½

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Bon Voyage Bob

Bon Voyage, Bob

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed – 22nd February 2019

★★½

 

“the wonderful dancers who make up this work, are given so little scope for expression”

 

The London premiere of Bon Voyage, Bob last night at Sadlers Wells came with a great deal of expectation. Since her sudden death in 2009, Pina Bausch’s extraordinary company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, has continued solely by dint of performing revivals of the enormous body of works Bausch created with it over a period of thirty six years. Until 2015 that is, when the company invited two choreographers in, in order to create new work. Alan Lucien Øyen’s response was Bon Voyage, Bob, which had its world premiere in Wuppertal last year.

Bon Voyage, Bob is best described as an extended meditation on death. It takes place in a dreamscape (stunningly realised by the triple talents of Alex Eales (set); Martin Flack (lighting) and Gunnar Innvaer (sound)) in which the past merges with the present, and vivid fantasies are as concrete as naturalistic memories. Linear narrative is replaced by recurring visual and textual motifs, and a horse dancing on two legs at a formal dinner is as real to the audience as a maternal deathbed scene. The set is almost permanently in revolve, with company members continually entering and exiting through doors; the effect is that of a surrealist painting brought to life. The piece is full of exquisitely realised stage pictures, and the slickness of the choreography is undeniable, particularly when the company work collectively, moving and placing objects to create a mise en scene, but, at three hours, it feels empty and self-indulgent, and considerably less than the sum of its parts.

Bausch’s influence is undeniable, but Øyen’s choreography here feels devoid of heart, so that we are left merely with the trappings of her art, with no living, breathing body underneath. This is almost literally the case, in that the wonderful dancers who make up this work, are given so little scope for expression. Bausch understood the eloquence of the human body in a way that few choreographers ever have, and these dancers are imbued with her philosophy. The points at which they are allowed to move are sublime, and showcase unimaginable skill and poetry, but they are few and far between. It feels counter to the work to single out these dancers by name, as they live and breathe as a collective, but there were some extraordinary moments created by one or two peformers which will linger in the memory, and the final scene, in which the dancers move together and slowly leave the stage in falling snow, had the breath of magic in it. It was unfortunate that it also contained a large dose of relief. The audience struggled with this piece last night, and left in noticeable numbers at the interval and during the second half. The piece was so relentlessly portentous that it was frequently boring, and often unintentionally comic, with moments of intended pathos quickly becoming farcical. Øyen did not feel in control of his material.

Bausch changed the landscape of dance theatre, and it is an extraordinarily difficult job for a new choreographer to continue her legacy, whilst at the same time breathing fresh life into the company and bringing something of themselves to the stage. Øyen, unfortunately, was not up to the task. The work felt lifeless and derivative, and the audience remained untouched.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Mats Bäcker

 


Bon Voyage, Bob

Sadler’s Wells Theatre until 25th February

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Medusa | ★★★½ | October 2018
The Emperor and the Concubine | ★★★★ | October 2018
Dystopian Dream | ★★★★★ | November 2018
Layla and Majnun | ★★★½ | November 2018
Swan Lake | ★★★★★ | December 2018

 

Click here to see more of our latest reviews on thespyinthestalls.com

 

Digging Deep

Digging Deep
★★★★

VAULT Festival

Digging Deep

Digging Deep

The Vaults

Reviewed – 20th February 2019

★★★★

 

“Guyler is most definitely a writing talent to be reckoned with”

 

Digging Deep is Amy Guyler’s four man play about suicide, which, shockingly, as the beer mats placed on our seats remind us, is the biggest killer of men under 45 in this country. The play centres on 22 year old Mossy and his group of mates. Mossy is done with life – he feels he’s flatlining already and he doesn’t see the point of carrying on – but he doesn’t want to leave his Mum with a costly funeral bill, so he enlists his mates to help him raise £10,000 before he ends it all. Before long, their local campaign goes viral and hits the headlines, the money is raised, and Mossy is faced with the reality of his situation.

Digging Deep is a well-paced, tightly written drama, with an expertly handled and unexpected last minute denouement. Guyler has a great ear, and for the most part the dialogue is eminently recognisable as the comfortable banter common to a group of lads who hang out together a lot. The gags are occasionally overplayed, and the comedic moments occasionally overwritten, but there are a lot of genuine laughs to be had, and Guyler is most definitely a writing talent to be reckoned with, particularly since she is also capable of moving people to tears; two men in the audience last night were completely overcome in the play’s final moments.

Credit must go too to Alistair Wilkinson’s sure-handed and creative direction, and to some terrific performances. Kyle Rowe, as Mossy, is magnetic on stage throughout, with tremendous physical and vocal presence. He is ably supported by Jonny Green – who gives a nuanced portrayal of the sensitive Matt – and Matthew Woodhead, entirely believable as Mossy’s oldest mate Kane. Josh Sinclair-Evans, as Jack, arguably has the most difficult task, and, although his performance makes more sense at the play’s close than it does during its unfolding, Jack’s characterisation still seems somewhat skin-deep in comparison with that of the other three. This is partly owing to the choice to give him a very obvious tic (he played nervously with the tie of his hoodie throughout) which emphasises his external behaviour over what he carries in his body.

The boys’ physicality plays a huge part in this piece; how they move, individually and collectively, tells us so much about who they are. There are some brilliantly directed set pieces – the sponsored onion-eating; the football match; the sky dive – but the subtle physical detail in each performance is almost more pleasing, defining, as it does, the boys so clearly one from the other. They scuff and lounge and strut around the stage, hands in pockets or down trousers, chests out or shoulders hunched, and paint a poignant potrait of the so-often-hidden struggles that so many young men face. Prepare to be moved.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Andrew James

 

Vault Festival 2019

Digging Deep

Part of VAULT Festival 2019

 

 

 

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