Programme 2005
Programme 2009
Gothic Ballet, directed by David Nixon
Performed by Northern Ballet Theatre
At the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
Date of Performance (1): Friday 5th September, 2005
Date of Performance (2): Friday 11th September, 2009
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes (one interval, 20 mins)
Review by Don Gillan, www.stagebeauty.net
The production opens with Dracula rising naked from his coffin. Next we see Jonathan Harker, an English lawyer, being collected by a ghostly carriage and transported to Dracula's castle. Dracula sets him to work, resisting the temptation to feed upon his blood. The Count is transfixed by a photograph of Johnathan's wife Mina which he has placed upon his desk. Reaching into Jonathan's mind he conjures forward the living image of Mina. When Dracula leaves, his vampiric brides enter and almost seduce Jonathan but the Count returns and drives them away. Dracula cannot put the picture of Mina out of his mind and he climbs into a crate to be shipped to England.
Meanwhile, in England, the real Mina is being teased in her garden over a letter (is it from Jonathan?) by her friend Lucy Westernra. Lucy herself is pursued by two suitors. Doctor Seward she rejects, but the honourable Arthur Holmwood she joyously accepts. Seward seeks to console himself in his work and goes to study his most intrigueing patient, Renfield, a curious little man who is kept in a cage. Dracula, having arrived in England, meets Lucy and in a dream-state lures her into a graveyard. There he drinks of her blood and infects her with his own. At a party to celebrate her engagement, Lucy arrives on the arm of an unknown stranger (Dracula) and shocks the party guests with her sensual behaviour. Coming to her senses, she flees from the celebrations, Mina starts to follow but the Count stops her. They are strangely attracted, Dracula cannot bring himself to feed upon Mina, and she who should be repulsed is drawn toward him. After the party Dracula invades Lucy's boudoir and feeds upon her again, draining the last of her life blood. Holmwood arrives with Seward and Van Helsing but they are too late to save her.
A funeral procession ends with Lucy being interred in the family vault. Van Helsing is the last to leave and see's a re-animated Lucy rise from her coffin, he drives her away with a crucifix. Returning to her grieving freinds he tells the young men what has become of Lucy and leads them back to the crypt and the empty coffin. They wait for Lucy's return and Holmwood gives her peace by driving a wooden stake through her heart. The young men now hunt for the Count. Van Helsing hypnotises Renfield to learn of Dracula's whereabouts and they destroy the crates of unhallowed earth which were his sleeping place.
Seeking revenge, Dracula kills Renfield then seeks out Mina. He cannot kill her, nor can she resist him. The searchers return to find Mina in Dracula's arms whereupon he flees into the night. Mina, who has now been infected by Dracula, attempts to escape into the night but is stopped by Van Helsing who subdues her with his crucifix. The only way to save Mina now is to destroy the Count. The men follow him to his lair for the final confrontation.
This was perhaps not a production for the purists, with a large element of mime and a number of routines which leaned more toward modern dance than traditional ballet. It is a production rich in special effects and mechanical devices, from the coffin that rises up through the stage floor and out of which Dracula steps for his first appearance and Renfield's cage which descends from the rafters, to the superbly effective black horses pulling Harker's carriage and the beheading of the vampiric Lucy. The first act for example ended in a sequence of fixed tableau. This is not to say that there was not still plenty of content for the traditionalists to admire, most notably in the first appearance of Mina and in the scene at the engagement party (one of only two scenes involving the whole Corps de Ballet). The use of pointe shoes was mainly restricted to the first act with most of the second being performed in flats. The best dance sequence was Mina's elopement with Dracula, not a pas de deux in the full sense since the pair danced in tandem but never made contact. The music, particularly in the opening scenes, was overall very sombre with few lighter sequences and much use of choral works. It is mostly taken from the pen of Alfred Schnittke.
David Kierce was magnificent as Dracula, gliding across the stage as if on wheels when his feet were hidden by his flowing cape. He captured both the essence of evil of the character and the ultimate pathos of a man who is ultimately desperately alone. Keiko Amemori danced beautifully in the lead female role of Mina, her pas de deux with Dracula when she first falls under his spell was particularly moving. In spite of the quality of her performance however, in my mind her thunder was largely stolen by an exceptionally vigourous and passionate performance from young dancer Georgina May in the role of Lucy. Patrick Howell was a capable although not particularly convincing Jonathan, and was ably supported by Hironao Takahashi, Darren Goldsmith and Stephen Wheeler as Holmwood, Seward and Van Helsing repectively. Special mention must be given to Sebastian Loe who was superlative in the albeit relatively short role as Renfield. Looking shockingly gaunt and wretched he could only be compared to Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies. Also worthy of mention were Natalie Leftwich, Hannah Bateman and Victoria Sibson who were deliciously sensual and seductive as the three brides of Dracula.
Update 12/09/2009
The choreography and sets remain, from memory, almost identical to the previous staging. Tobias Batley's gaunt and hawk-like features make him a more sinister Dracula than his predecessor, and there was a real chemistry between him and Hannah Bateman as an elegant and refined Mina. The latter beautifully captured the innocence of her character and the confusion caused by her feelings for Dracula. But again it was Lucy, this time performed with thrilling abandon by Pippa Moore that dominates the memory, flinging herself at her partner with seemingly wild disregard for either of their personal safety.
Impressive sets and costumes allied to first class performances. A visual treat.