ASSEMBLY HALL at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

★★★★★

“Assembly Hall is nothing short of spectacular”

Crystal Pite is a visionary theatre-maker. A once in a generation choreographer. Able to convey emotion through movement in a way unlike anyone else I have had the pleasure to see.

My first introduction to Pite was as part of a mixed bill for the Royal Ballet in 2017. Her short work, Flight Pattern, created in response to Europe’s refugee crisis, blew me away with its ambitious use of the whole company moving in synchronicity.

Her latest work in collaboration with Jonathon Young and her Vancouver based company, Kidd Pivot, takes an utterly bizarre concept that, on the surface, has nothing in common with that politically charged piece – an Annual General Meeting of amateur medieval re-enactors.

It is as perplexing as it seems. Pite and Young’s signature style, developed over the course of a number of productions together, has dancers moving and lip syncing to recorded speech. They animate conversations with exaggerated hand gestures and head tilts, with each dancer imbuing their movements with oodles of personality as we are introduced to the reasons the group has gathered. Slowly through the narrative, after comic arguments about where refreshments feature on the agenda, it is revealed that the group are facing dissolution, with their fate hinging on a final vote put off since last year.

From relatively inauspicious beginnings, over the course of 90 minutes this show turns into something totally unexpected and will leave you gripped throughout. Pite and Young use this group of amateur re-enactors to explore themes ever present in theatre such as: Why do we tell stories? And what do the stories that persist say about us today? Are we doomed to repeat the failings of our forebears or can we learn to save ourselves and set us free?

As the piece moves into a dream-like sequence where the dance takes over, the conversation gives way to a soundscape of experimental electronic sounds using the recorded speech (Owen Belton, Alessandro Juliani and Meg Roe). The group moves like a living organism, not in stops and starts but in ripples and waves. How much are these individuals in control, executing free will vs. playing a role they are destined to play, over and over? This is explored right from the get go, with one of the dancers seemingly being pushed and pulled around by another, moving like a marionette. Movements flail and flutter as if under strobe lighting and repeat in mysterious ways. When later the same movements recur by a dancer in a full suit of armour they gain an audible element which inexplicably changes the feeling of the movement.

The set (Jay Gower Taylor) is exquisitely simple – a backdrop that is without doubt a run down community hall, with grubby walls and moody lighting (Tom Visser) that adds to the feeling this is a place in disrepair. The raised stage-upon-a-stage is a clever trick to instantaneously move the action from real to surreal.

The costume (Nancy Bryant) is again simple yet characterful. Dancers wear plain clothes whilst in their AGM but these get increasingly elaborate as the re-enactments play out.

Each element, movement, sound, costume, and lighting is top notch but together it is more than the sum of its parts. Pite uses dance to convey a message in concert with other elements and in many ways her approach to theatre-making is similar to her approach to the choreography – each element performing the role it’s best placed to play.

Out of many, we are left with one. A final image of a knight constructed from the torso of one dancer, the arm of another, with the whole figure moving as if being controlled by a master puppeteer.

I am not exaggerating when I say Assembly Hall is nothing short of spectacular. I came out feeling enthused at what a perfectly executed production it was – the best and most sought after sensation after leaving the theatre. Pite proves her talent once again, and to think something so ambitious can be achieved out of a group of medieval reenactors makes it all the more joyous. I can’t wait to see what pops out of Pite’s enviable creative mind next.

ASSEMBLY HALL at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed on 20th March 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Michael Slobodian

Previously reviewed at this venue:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY (v95 and v96) | ★★★ | March 2024

NELKEN | ★★★★★ | February 2024

LOVETRAIN2020 | ★★★★ | November 2023

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER AT 65 | ★★★★★ | September 2023

DANCE ME | ★★★★★ | February 2023

BREAKIN’ CONVENTION 2021 | ★★★★★ | July 2021

WILD CARD | ★★★★ | June 2021

OVERFLOW | ★★★★★ | May 2021

REUNION | ★★★★★ | May 2021

ASSEMBLY HALL

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

★★★

“Autobiography’s saviours are its dancers who are technically talented with unmitigated enthusiasm.”

Self, Life, Writing. The essence of the word Autobiography and a reflection of how Wayne McGregor sees the world, breaking it down to its core components. Autobiography was first performed in 2017 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Company Wayne McGregor. Conceived in collaboration with the dancers of the company, and inspired by the experiences, influences and ephemera of McGregor’s life, the structure of the piece is then left up to the power of ‘the algorithm’, of which more later. Now some five years or so since it was first performed, in the company’s 30th year, it’s back on stage at Sadler’s Wells, albeit in a slightly different formation.

Chapters of self contained meaning are numbered but performed out of sequence. Only chapters 1 and 23 are positioned at the same point in each performance – at the opening and closing. The significance of 23 is in its relation to the number of pairs of chromosomes in DNA, one of the most basic units of human existence. Serendipitously, 23 is also the age Wayne was when he started the company, adding a further autobiographical significance to the piece. The order in which each audience will experience the chapters is determined by an “algorithm based on McGregor’s genetic code”, dramaturg Uzma Hameed tells us in the programme. This algorithm may also select which dancers take on which roles. The ambitions are lofty and likely technically complex – but altogether opaque and probably unnecessary. A random number generator to choose the sequence would likely do the same job as an algorithm based on the sequencing of McGregor’s DNA.

And in terms of the substance of the performance – it wasn’t easy to like. In fact part way through I wondered whether the choice not to have an interval was to stop people leaving the auditorium never to return.

Now don’t get me wrong – I am always down for a bit of techno music and don’t believe dance should always be aesthetically harmonious. But some of the pieces were really challenging to endure. This was largely due to the, at times deafening, soundtrack by Jlin. Her roots in America’s rust belt are abundantly clear from the pulsating bass and breakbeats, reflecting McGregor’s choreographic style. When more melodic, there are real moments of beauty. But at the point high-pitched screams overlaid the bassline the soundtrack really wore thin.

It wasn’t always saved by the choreography. All solos, duets and trios were interesting and pleasant to watch, notwithstanding the oppressive soundtrack. But some of the pieces featuring the full company lacked cohesion. One piece in particular early on in v95 (likely to appear at a different point in other versions) lacked any unifying motif whatsoever. It appeared like an audition room with each dancer attempting to show their best moves and catch the attention of the casting director. Maybe this was the intention, given the autobiographical nature of the piece, but it felt too simplistic an interpretation for McGregor.

Autobiography’s saviours are its dancers who are technically talented with unmitigated enthusiasm. Only two of the original cast are still part of the company and they are easy to spot. The maturity is evident in Rebecca Bassett-Graham, not just from her fiercely cropped shock of white blonde hair but also from the strength and power portrayed in her movement. There’s also Jordan James Bridge, whose distinctive style stands out in a solo moment. The majority of the company are fresh talent – with just over half having joined in 2023 and all delivering stand out moments. Jasiah Marshall has a particular presence – opening the performance dominating the starkly designed and lit stage (Ben Cullen Williams and Lucy Carter) with broken lines and a chest so puffed it too looked like it might snap.

Autobiography might not be the most enjoyable watch. But as a capsule of the core elements of Wayne McGregor’s practice: a fascination with science and technology; a collaborative approach with his dancers; and a disciplined minimalism to choreography, costume and set, it’s an ambitious yet not self indulgent project.

ASSEMBLY HALL at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

★★★★★

“Assembly Hall is nothing short of spectacular”

ASSEMBLY HALL at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed on 20th March 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Michael Slobodian

Previously reviewed at this venue:

ASSEMBLY HALL

ASSEMBLY HALL

AUTOBIOGRAPHY (V95 & V96) at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

★★★

“Autobiography’s saviours are its dancers who are technically talented with unmitigated enthusiasm.”

AUTOBIOGRAPHY (V95 & V96) at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed on 12th March 2024

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Andrej Uspenski

Previously reviewed at this venue:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

AUTOBIOGRAPHY