Rich Jevons has a fangtastic fright night at West Yorkshire Playhouse for Northern Ballet’s truly Gothic take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Right from the monumental and nerve-tingling prologue to the grisly and bloody denouement Northern Ballet tells the narrative in a wonderfully theatrical way that explicitly matches its subjects of sex and death.
And what a prologue! Dracula (Tobias Batley) raises up from his coffin to a menacing Schnittke score amidst plumes of dry ice swirling across Ali Allen’s truly magnificent Gothic set. The Count is equally as enrapturing in his full costume as he is in his birthday suit when he haunts the imagination of young English lawyer Jonathan Harker (Ashley Dixon).
After a fleeting vision of Harker’s beloved Mina (Martha Leebolt) these vampiric visions become a visceral reality an erotic dance with the Brides of Dracula where the three female dancers (Rachael Gillespie, Jessica Morgan and Hannah Bateman) take libidinous pleasures with the lawyer with wild abandonment.
There are, of course, the subplots with Mina’s friend Lucy (Pippa Moore) choosing from two suitors, and bestial maniac Renfield (Kevin Poeung) in Dr Seward’s lunatic asylum – both magnificently staged. Act One ends with a series of friezes, beautifully lit like tableaux, that depict Lucy’s tragic fate.
Act Two sticks faithfully to Bram Stoker’s plotline (but no spoilers here) – suffice to say it is delineated brilliantly with some incredible segues and set pieces, all in a design to die for (Tim Mitchell’s atmospheric lighting is particularly of note) and masterful choreography by David Nixon OBE.
Even if you are not particularly a ballet fan or have no interest in Gothic horror this show will win you over for its pure power as a spectacle and strength of purpose. It is frequently shocking to the extent of gasps of disbelief as well as having great emotions of love and longing.
An incredibly visually rich revival with performances that go down as the finest you’re likely to see in contemporary dance, perfected beyond belief and full of relish and wonder. It has to be five stars for the whole Northern Ballet team, a shining jewel in Leeds’ mighty cultural crown.
Until 13 September 2014, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.
See the Northern Ballet website for details of other forthcoming productions.
Click here to read Rich Jevons’ interview with Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director David Nixon OBE on the Northern Soul website.
Photos: Justin Slee