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New Statesman
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Quadrophenia the ballet is a storm of movement
Photo by Johan Persson The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia has had many lives since it was released in 1973: a film (1979, directed by Franc Roddam); a stage musical adaptation; a 2015 orchestral album, Classic Quadrophenia, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and tenor Alfie Boe. Now, this Sixties subculture tale has been revived in a rather unlikely medium: ballet. Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet follows the story of a young mod, Jimmy (Paris Fitzpatrick), who rejects his parents' way of life, struggles with unrequited love, and is caught in a rivalry between the mods and the leather-jacket-wearing rockers. The score is the arrangement created by the Who guitarist Pete Townshend's partner, Rachel Fuller, for the 2015 album – minus the vocals. In homage to the film, the performance exudes a cinematic quality through its use of multimedia. Naturalistic backdrops are projected into the black‑box theatre – sometimes on to a mesh screen in front of the dancers. Additional layers are added by Fabiana Piccioli's lighting design: the cool blue wash of the sky, the warm golden glow of streetlamps, and the neon flash of a dive‑bar scene, where dancers gather in Twiggy‑style dresses and sharp suits by the costume designer Hannah Teare. Here, 'ballet' is a loose term: pointe shoes and split-sole slippers are swapped out for LaDuca brogues. Paul Roberts's choreography eschews the highly formalised steps of the genre, favouring flexed feet over the point, and parallels to turn-outs. There are echoes of classical style, as in the Godfather's (Matthew Ball) fouettés in his solo, but even here the smooth line is broken by a flexed foot. Roberts's attention to force and flow creates a dynamic performance, with stunning holds and lifts. But while the choreography is visually pleasing, and the themes of identity and masculinity are as relevant today as 50 years ago, Jimmy's story gets lost in the storm of movement. If narrative is what you're after, the film might be a better choice. Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet Sadler's Wells, London EC1 [See also: 4.48 Psychosis is a disturbing dissection of the mind] Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Related
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Scotsman
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet, Edinburgh review: 'brings mods and rockers back to life'
With a talented cast, arresting design and a phenomenal score, this show captures what it was like to be young at an important cultural moment, writes Kelly Apter Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Quadrophenia: A Mod Ballet, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh ★★★★ When something iconic starts life in one genre and evolves into another, it always comes with challenges. Books turned into TV programmes never quite match our imagination, and in the case of Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet, you have to leave your celluloid memories behind and embrace the show on its own terms. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet | Johan Persson Replicating the 1979 film on stage, with its huge fight on Brighton promenade, pulsating dance club scene and engine-revving motorcycles and scooters, would be impossible. That said, however, this new production certainly gives it a good go. It's very much Pete Townshend's baby: he wrote the storyline (and the original album) but has clearly handed over the reins to specialists to deliver his vision, in particular the arresting video design, which fills the entire stage with the choppy waters below Beachy Head, amongst other locations. Similarly, Townsend's wife, Rachel Fuller (along with Martin Batchelar) has turned The Who's album into a phenomenal orchestral score, which does much of the emotional heavy lifting. Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet | Johan Persson Directed by Rob Ashford, this production focuses in on lead character Jimmy's mental health issues, and we often see him surrounded by four aspects of his personality - the tough guy, the lunatic, the romantic, and the hypocrite - which gives choreographer Paul Roberts an interesting palette of moves to work with. Roberts and Ashford also take a deep dive into the lacklustre relationship between Jimmy's parents, which bears poignant fruit. Sign up to our FREE Arts & Culture newsletter at Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Despite this, the show doesn't make us feel quite as much as we should, which is a shame. What it does do, though, is capture what it was like to be young at this moment in British history: the energy, the rivalries, the disillusionment and love affair with fashion. The talented 22-strong cast never falters, bringing mods and rockers back to life through dynamic group scenes, a sensual imagined ménage à trois, and some dramatic cliff-edge moments, as Jimmy wrestles with his future.
Sunday World
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Tina Turner musical's stars pay tribute to icon as show lands in Ireland
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of the American music icon's hits. TINA the musical, , Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, CHOREOGRAPHER -ANTHONY VAN LAAST, SET & COSTUME DESIGNER - MARK THOMPSON, LIGHTING DESIGNER - BRUNO POET, PROJECTION DESIGNER - JEFF SUGG, HAIR, WIGS & MAKE UP DESIGNER - CAMPBELL YOUNG, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - KATHERINE HARE, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER - SIMONE MISTRY-PALMER, Curve theatre, UK, Credit: Johan Persson/ TINA the musical, , Directed by Phyllida Lloyd with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, CHOREOGRAPHER -ANTHONY VAN LAAST, SET & COSTUME DESIGNER - MARK THOMPSON, LIGHTING DESIGNER - BRUNO POET, PROJECTION DESIGNER - JEFF SUGG, HAIR, WIGS & MAKE UP DESIGNER - CAMPBELL YOUNG, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - KATHERINE HARE, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER - SIMONE MISTRY-PALMER, Curve theatre, UK, Credit: Johan Persson/ From humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her triumphant transformation into a multi-award-winning global superstar, Tina Turner didn't just break the rules, she rewrote them. Born Anna Mae Bullock, Tina, who died in May 2023 at the age of 83, left behind an incredible legacy and a treasure trove of hits that will see her name live on for generations to come. Not surprisingly there's Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, which opens at Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre this coming week. Set to the pulse-pounding soundtrack of her iconic hits, including The Best, What's Love Got To Do With It?, Private Dancer and River Deep, Mountain High, it's a real treat. Elle Ma-Kinga N'Zuzi and Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy will share the iconic role of Tina Turner, alongside David King-Yombo as Ike Turner. MacCarthy says she will never forget the morning she heard about Tina's death as she had starred as the pop legend in the Australian production of the Tina musical the previous night. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Photo: Johan Persson She says: 'When I first performed this show, Tina was still alive…a week after we opened, she passed. I didn't know until I started receiving messages from people the next day telling me how sorry they were to hear the sad news. I was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa...' 'That night, the house was packed…people wanted to be there to pay their respects and show their gratitude. Having experienced doing the show with the potential for Tina to walk in the door at any moment, that night I experienced it with the potential of her presence being there… the emotion was phenomenal, a different level of performance, like an out of body experience.' N'Zuzi says: 'My foster dad was a huge fan of Tina Turner, consequently, she was the first black artist I was introduced to as he had all her cassettes and CDs. I'd dance in front of the TV whenever she was on.' As a child, N'Zuzi's party-piece was Proud Mary and by a strange twist it was the song that got her an initial role playing Tina. She explains, 'I was in rock bands at the time and at several concerts I'd been asked to sing the likes of Proud Mary. I was working in Germany when the producers needed an alternate Tina and they emailed me. I thought, 'Why not?' So I went along and I got the job. It just happened by chance really.' It was at the age of seven that MacCarthy first came across the name Tina Turner thanks to a singing birthday card she'd bought for her mum. She laughs: 'That was the first time I ever came across her name… it was back in the day when you got these cards that, when opened, would sing this one song, Simply The Best, over and over again." To their regret, neither N'Zuzi nor MacCarthy met the rock legend whose story they tell, the former missing the opportunity to do so by just a few months. 'Tina had visited the show a few months before I joined during a cast change,' she says. 'So half of the cast had met her, the other half, like me, had not. 'But I discovered that Tina loved Germany and that when she ran away from Ike, she hid in Stuttgart, just around the corner from our theatre there. Not many people are aware of that. 'In fact, while I was there, I went to a local recording studio to record some stuff and there, on the walls, were all these amazing photos of Tina that I'd never seen before.' After Tina died MacCarthy set off on a pilgrimage to Switzerland to visit the star's home. She adds: 'I went to her house and laid some flowers by her door. Unlike many huge stars who live in secluded communities, her house was by the road. Tina always wanted to be accessible.'
Perth Now
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Why Cirque du Soleil's next Perth show will be like no other
The last place you'd expect to find humour and joy is within the emotional depths of a funeral, but that's exactly how Cirque du Soleil's upcoming show Corteo will set the scene when it arrives at RAC Arena in August. While the globetrotting circus juggernaut has built a reputation on literally suspending reality, artistic director Olaf Triebel says Corteo — which premiered in 2005 — is designed to pull on different strings. 'This is the most human show,' he told The West Australian. 'You see the acrobat on stage, you see who the person is — they can't hide behind make-up.' Corteo, the Italian word for 'cortege', is by definition a funeral procession. However, when the life being celebrated is that of a clown, that's where the solemnity ends. Think performers riding bicycles into the sky and a little clown soaring over the audience powered by large helium balloons. The beloved Cirque du Soleil production Corteo has announced additional shows for the Australian tour this August. Credit: Johan Persson / Johan Persson 'Who, as a kid, has not thought at one point of being able to fly away with a balloon?' Triebel suggested. 'That's just really unexpected, and you can see the joy in people's eyes when they watch that.' A former Cirque du Soleil artist himself, the German veteran sat in the Montreal crowd during Corteo's first run of shows 20 years ago, and described taking the reigns in early 2024 as artistic director as 'a circle that closed'. But things have changed a little since, following 4700 performances. The beloved Cirque du Soleil production Corteo has announced additional shows for the Australian tour this August. Credit: Maja Prgomet / Maja Prgomet In a Cirque du Soleil first, the crowd will be divided into two opposing halves and separated by a central stage to create a unique perspective for fans to connect with performers. Or as Triebel puts it, for the stars — whose unbridled imaginations are considered as relevant as their thousands of training hours — 'there is nowhere to hide'. Circque du Soleil's Corteo is set for a run of 53 shows across Australia, commencing in Perth before playing in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
