Highland Fling
Aug. 26th, 2005 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
burntcopperOkay, first time seeing ballet live.
Not one of the reviews told me it was so fucking funny! I've seriously never seen an audience laugh so much, or believe that anyone could portray clubbing so well through ballet. Really. Basically, it's La Sylphide - bloke gets enchanted and runs off with a sprite to the forest on his wedding night, then it doesn't work out due to him being too much of this world, she dies, he tries to go back but the wife has shacked up with someone else. This version's set in Glasgow council flats, and the wood has a slight element of the local dump to it.
First, we had a great clubbing scene, which included drugs, bitchfights, bumping and grinding, bits of highland dancing (happens a lot in this), and shagging in the loos. Back to his, sees the sylph occasionally, there's drunken stumbling about, waking up the next morning, then getting the flat sorted for the wedding. This is ridiculously funny, and I've never seen someone do expressions, drunkenness, dancing and headbutting so well. Wedding, then the sylph appears again, and James chases after her. Out the window.
Act two, he wakes up in the 'forest glade' on a wrecked armchair, with a burnt-out car in the other corner of the stage. Sylphs dancing - said sylphs being in white gauzy versions of highland dancing outfits, including the blokes, who're in white kilts and sporrans. Sylphs being trees and confusing the fuck out of James by moving around. Then lots of dancing, plus James and the sylph buggering off-stage to shag. With the rest of the company as sylphs looking on and imitating them. :snicker: More dancing, then James gets in the car, the sylph gets on the bonnet and scoots up to the window, and James' legs appear out the window and there's more shagging. More snickering. Sylphs trying to teach James to fly. Fucking hysterical. But then - then came the bit where one side of the audience couldn't stop giggling, others saw what they were looking at, and the laughter spread like wildfire. Bunny rabbit hand puppets. I'm serious. Really. Bunny rabbits and badgers onnastick. Gesturing, the little bastards were.
James pulls the sylph off back to the city since he can't fit in there, only... Erk. He produces shears. She stumbles back on stage wingless and covered in blood, he follows with hands dripping, not understanding that she's dying, right up the moment where she collapses on stage and the sylphs bear her body off.
Coda is Morag (James' girlfriend) staring out the window, then coming away and curling up with the bloke who was established as fancying her something rotten. Then James appears at the window, with wings and white-faced, in almost exactly the way the sylph did originally. Damn impressive.
Anyway. Like I said, fucking hysterical, with some of the best expressions *ever* - I'm always going to be spoiled for other productions, since they won't have people stumbling about with hangovers, walking into walls, doing a sword dance, mother in law sneaking the gin, two of the lads waking up on the floor wrapped around each other and one starting to hump him in his sleep (also described as Ewan, who is confused), or the best man being told to do the hoovering. Dancing utterly fucking brilliant, and there were kilts. *Kilts*. More dancing should be done in kilts. I wonder if it can be made a rule on stage in dance productions. All men must wear kilts. It's much more attractive than tights, though feathered shorts come a close second, as do leather trousers. (Matthew Bourne also responsible for these innovations. He has earned his place in heaven, that boy.)
I also want a Will Kemp of my own (played James). Kilt is not essential, but would be appreciated.
Tomorrow, off to buy fairy wings and contacts (I'm insane, what the hell am I thinking, I've never even worn glasses before), sparkly things for birthday pressies, and while away the afternoon and evening at pubmeet in Holborn.
Tells you something when the cry of 'Bank Holiday!' goes up, then the resounding cry after that is 'Oh my god, sleep! I'm going to spend as much of it sleeping as possible!' (this included public transport bods, the guys who run the deli, and most of the editorial section.) I believe this might be telling. Reading Festival happening somewhere in the distance, hordes descended wednesday and thursday. Shall spend weekend avoiding them.
Not one of the reviews told me it was so fucking funny! I've seriously never seen an audience laugh so much, or believe that anyone could portray clubbing so well through ballet. Really. Basically, it's La Sylphide - bloke gets enchanted and runs off with a sprite to the forest on his wedding night, then it doesn't work out due to him being too much of this world, she dies, he tries to go back but the wife has shacked up with someone else. This version's set in Glasgow council flats, and the wood has a slight element of the local dump to it.
First, we had a great clubbing scene, which included drugs, bitchfights, bumping and grinding, bits of highland dancing (happens a lot in this), and shagging in the loos. Back to his, sees the sylph occasionally, there's drunken stumbling about, waking up the next morning, then getting the flat sorted for the wedding. This is ridiculously funny, and I've never seen someone do expressions, drunkenness, dancing and headbutting so well. Wedding, then the sylph appears again, and James chases after her. Out the window.
Act two, he wakes up in the 'forest glade' on a wrecked armchair, with a burnt-out car in the other corner of the stage. Sylphs dancing - said sylphs being in white gauzy versions of highland dancing outfits, including the blokes, who're in white kilts and sporrans. Sylphs being trees and confusing the fuck out of James by moving around. Then lots of dancing, plus James and the sylph buggering off-stage to shag. With the rest of the company as sylphs looking on and imitating them. :snicker: More dancing, then James gets in the car, the sylph gets on the bonnet and scoots up to the window, and James' legs appear out the window and there's more shagging. More snickering. Sylphs trying to teach James to fly. Fucking hysterical. But then - then came the bit where one side of the audience couldn't stop giggling, others saw what they were looking at, and the laughter spread like wildfire. Bunny rabbit hand puppets. I'm serious. Really. Bunny rabbits and badgers onnastick. Gesturing, the little bastards were.
James pulls the sylph off back to the city since he can't fit in there, only... Erk. He produces shears. She stumbles back on stage wingless and covered in blood, he follows with hands dripping, not understanding that she's dying, right up the moment where she collapses on stage and the sylphs bear her body off.
Coda is Morag (James' girlfriend) staring out the window, then coming away and curling up with the bloke who was established as fancying her something rotten. Then James appears at the window, with wings and white-faced, in almost exactly the way the sylph did originally. Damn impressive.
Anyway. Like I said, fucking hysterical, with some of the best expressions *ever* - I'm always going to be spoiled for other productions, since they won't have people stumbling about with hangovers, walking into walls, doing a sword dance, mother in law sneaking the gin, two of the lads waking up on the floor wrapped around each other and one starting to hump him in his sleep (also described as Ewan, who is confused), or the best man being told to do the hoovering. Dancing utterly fucking brilliant, and there were kilts. *Kilts*. More dancing should be done in kilts. I wonder if it can be made a rule on stage in dance productions. All men must wear kilts. It's much more attractive than tights, though feathered shorts come a close second, as do leather trousers. (Matthew Bourne also responsible for these innovations. He has earned his place in heaven, that boy.)
I also want a Will Kemp of my own (played James). Kilt is not essential, but would be appreciated.
Tomorrow, off to buy fairy wings and contacts (I'm insane, what the hell am I thinking, I've never even worn glasses before), sparkly things for birthday pressies, and while away the afternoon and evening at pubmeet in Holborn.
Tells you something when the cry of 'Bank Holiday!' goes up, then the resounding cry after that is 'Oh my god, sleep! I'm going to spend as much of it sleeping as possible!' (this included public transport bods, the guys who run the deli, and most of the editorial section.) I believe this might be telling. Reading Festival happening somewhere in the distance, hordes descended wednesday and thursday. Shall spend weekend avoiding them.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-27 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-28 12:10 pm (UTC)Scotland doesn't get that particular bank holiday. Darn.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 11:36 pm (UTC)Will Kemp in a Kilt!
Shiny, shiny dancing.
(I came back and read your review today, after I went to Highland Fling)