Shakespeare’s ‘problem play’ with all the modern society’s ills co-produced by Moscow’s Pushkin Theater and London’s Cheek by Jowl with Declan Donnellan directing
MEASURE FOR MEASURE by Shakespeare, Paris, 2015 / Photo: Johan Persson
Two world famous theaters combine their forces to produce a dynamic and powerful play by Shakespeare which seems to be written about our fast-paced time. Or it could well be that no matter what time it is, people and the interplay of their motives stay the same.
Shakespeare, the great master of human soul and its hidden desires, had placed the story in the space close to his, and the brilliance of Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod is in shifting it to the modern time while keeping the story intact. The amazing thing is the fresh potency of the story that explores corruption, hypocrisy, and lies of those in power and the tight strings at their disposal to turn the world around in tune with their wishes. Opened in 2013 in Moscow, Russia, this “Measure for Measure” production had already traveled around the world getting rave reviews in Spain, France, Britain, and many other countries. See for yourself how up-to-date Shakespeare was when he wrote his timeless plays.
The performance is in Russian with English subtitles; it runs for intense 100 minutes without intermission.
Measure for Measure will be performed in Washington DC, Brooklyn NY, Boston MA, Los Angeles CA.
Love, deception, and a curse of class boundaries in a delicious production by Lev Dodin and Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg
Love and Intrigue by Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg, E. Boyarskaya and D. Kozlovsky; photo credit V. Vassiliev / Image courtesy of BAM
Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg is returning to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) with a remarkable production of “Love and Intrigue” on June 6-16, 2018. The original play was written by Friedrich Schiller in 1787 under the title Kabale und Liebe. It was later used by Guiseppe Verdi for his opera Luisa Miller. The fact that it was extremely popular in the 18th century as it is now is an attestation to the universal values of love and morality. The dramatic plot is as potent now as it was back then if not even more so. And while some may think that theatricality is taking rein in the finale, the production looks fresh and exceptionally compelling.
With its acclaimed cast of such beloved actors as Danila Kozlovsky as Ferdinand, Ksenia Rappoport as Lady Milford, Elizaveta Boyarskaya and Ekaterina Tarasova alternating as Louise, the performance promises to be a delicious fete for every theater lover.
Historic double bill of Café Müller/The Rite of Spring on September 14-24, 2017
Pina Bausch, Photo Credit: J. Paolo Pimenta / Image courtesy of BAM
This year Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch brings to New York two extraordinary ballets Cafe Muller set to the music of Henry Purcell and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. The psychological complexity conveyed by the Bausch’s powerful choreography will without doubt touch the souls of everyone from the dance aficionados to the novices to the art of ballet. The performances are part of the Next Wave Festival at BAM which will run from September 14 till December 16, 2017.
Pina Bauschand her theater Tanztheater Wuppertal had made a New York debut in 1984 and became highly anticipated guests on NY dance scene from that time on.
Bausch formal dance education started when at the age of 15 she was accepted to Folkgangschule of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany to study under the direction of Kurt Jooss, a pioneer of dance-theater genre who connected the ballet with the theatrical drama. After graduating the Folkgangschule, Bausch studied at Juilliard School in New York in the early 60s and was part of the New York Ballet, Paul Taylor company and other groups. Returning to Germany in late 60s to continue her work with Jooss, she choreographed her first ballet Frangmente to the music of Bartok in 1968.
From The Rite of Spring, Photo Credit:Ludovico Bastianini / Image courtesy of BAM
Assuming the role of artistic director for the Wuppertal Opera ballet in 1973, she continued to produce new ballets thus developing the style of tanztheater.
For the performances at BAM, Tanztheater Wuppertal will perform Cafe Muller and The Rite of Spring. Cafe Muller (1978) likely includes autobiographical elements, as Bausch family had also owned a café where Pina, still a child, had made her first dance performances entertaining the guests. In the ballet, the dancers make sleepwalking movements in a dark, deserted café interior acting out a tale about human emotions which are flaring up under the covers of night. Or it could be child’s interpretation of the complex and scary world of the grownups. The Guardian reviewof the piece for its 2008 performance at Sadler’s Wells, London, notes that the characters are “trapped in an existential tape loop, they endlessly reprise their actions and interactions.” Amplifying the effect are the arias by Henry Purcell mixed with the moments of silence. The repetitive movements seem to suggest that the characters are about to break themselves free but in the end are unable to do so.
From The Rite of Spring, Photo Credit:Oliver Look / Image courtesy of BAM
The second part of the bill is The Rite of Spring (1975) to the powerful score of Igor Stravinsky. In Bausch’s take of this ballet, which was originally written for Ballet Russes and choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, it at times seems that the dancers’ movements are making the music itself so close the choreography is in following the score. For this piece the stage is covered with dirt which plays a part in the performance. It is a character in the storyline along with the tribe and its rituals. The powerful and muscular movements of the male group are accentuated by the sensual and gentle actions of the female performers. This contrast between the sexes leads up to an emotional rite of the sacrificial selection by the tribe and its triumph over the individual expression and freedom. The ballet is so powerful that at time it feels like the composer and the choreographer were literally working together. Time is powerless to separate the geniuses of the music and choreography creators.
Nothing beats seeing the live performance but Chantal Ackerman’s documentary One Day Pina Asked shows how the danztheater is being made.
