'Life is a Dream'- Rambert

Rambert is an internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company who draw their style from the likes of Merce Cunningham and the Release technique. They are a British national treasure, advocating equality and diversity, and have collaborated with numerous companies and celebrities since their first performance in 1926.

On 3^rd March they performed the last show of their tour ‘Life is a Dream’ at The Curve Theatre Leicester. The performance is based on the existing play ‘life is a dream’, in which the prince, incarcerated his whole life, is set free for a day. He discovers the world around him, and begins experiencing overwhelming emotions of resentment, greed and anger, until he is eventually imprisoned once again. He then wakes and is told it was all a dream.

A word of warning before going to watch this piece; I would highly recommend a bit of light research… actually, rather a lot of research. Without a little prior knowledge of the plot, the dance is a blurry narrative, getting mixed up between a dream, an insane asylum and a pure horror film, and I thought I hallucinated the whole thing.

The show was very clearly divided into 2 sections, the first set in an institutional looking room (including the staple hospital bed), the second set in a stripped back, naturalistic dance studio. For a dance piece, I have to say the Quay brothers did a brilliant job of designing the set, which towered over the dancers and created an eeriness and authority, particularly in the first act. The darkened windows on the set drew in the dancers, as projections and indications of religious symbolism appeared from an otherworldly place on the other side. The issue I had was that the set was designed on an angle, restricting the views of the audience sat stage right. This was such a shame because there were some beautiful moments of choreography and projection tucked right into this corner.

I could not fault the dancers. They soared across the stage with beautiful technique and flowed like water when dancing as a whole ensemble, moving effortlessly through the floor and into beautiful lifts. I love that there was no need for them to try and show off their flexibility (as with some professional companies nowadays), but rather they relied on their pure talent as dancers, and not as gymnasts. Particular praise must be given to choreographer Kim Brandstrup for maintaining Rambert’s fundamental level of equality, and challenging gender roles throughout the ensemble work, but also within the pas de deux. Female dancers were not afraid to lift the male dancers, allowing a consistent flow of movement as they melted into each lift from the next. This was inspiring, and I would love to see this from more companies at this level of their career.

The straitjacket imagery was an interesting addition to the concept: with sleeves sewn up they were captivated by their freedom and new sense of touch when their hands were released. It was these carefully considered details that were beautiful additions to the narrative, adding a complexity and sophistication that I enjoyed very much.

Undermining this, I thought, was the decision to direct the lead male to ‘control’ the other dancers. Standing downstage, he simply moved his arm in the direction the ensemble of dancers behind him moved, occasionally moving to a specific dancer to direct them personally. This came across as undeveloped and gauche, and I would like to have seen the company portray this in a more articulated way. I find this technique a little overdone, even seeing it at simple college performances, so I would have enjoyed a little more originality from a company at this standard.

Though the dance content remained captivating, I must question the second act and its lack of connection from the first. We saw reoccurring motifs from act 1, reinforcing the dream state concept, but without a knowledge that this was representative of a choreographers dreams of his rehearsal, it was puzzling. However, I have to note that my favourite moment arose from this section, with the 2 male leads locked in a mirroring duet, acting as the dream character and the real character taunting one another. The pair played off one another exquisitely and their movements were strikingly perfect, matching their partner almost identically.

Overall I’d say a perplexing performance, with some wonderful work getting lost behind a concept that was perhaps too complex to present with dance alone. Again, I want to highlight the pure talent of the dancers, and even with a muddy narrative, they were captivating from start to finish. Altogether, not a show for the non-theatre nerds out there, but still a very enjoyable experience.