Drugs here aren’t a gimmick. There are no strung-out scenes of
cold turkey. Rather. drugs are used as a metaphor. ‘the sleep for our time' as Wennergren—Juras puts it. which Ek discovered observing junkies on the streets of Zurich. ‘The drugs here are used in the convention of a dream.‘ says Lidstrom. ‘but it's more about love and human beings and human feelings and relationships than anything.‘ ‘Like Mats always does.’ Wennergren-Juras adds. Indeed. it‘s this emotional centre that gives the work its narrative thrust and makes it so riveting to watch. Especially when offset against the four fairies cum guardian angels. here re-invented as larger than life Ab-Fab glamourpusses.
Ek has worked similar tricks with other of his self—defined ‘new
classics”. and one shouldn‘t be surprised to learn that his version of
Giselle. also to be staged during the Festival. is partly set in a mental hospital. ‘At the end of Sleeping Beautv.‘ Lidstrom points out. ‘the girl must take a chance in order to survive. and these are choices people must make every day.‘
Without giving too much away. Ek’s Sleeping Beauty is more a surreal Poor Cow than 'l'ruinsporring set to dance. It‘s a sad. everyday tale of typical girls who run headlong into the glamorous unknown. grabbing at whatever’s on offer. only to end up prematurely and quite literally holding the baby. So take a dose. why don’t you? It won‘t make things any better. any more bearable. Then again. if you know that already. when you inhale deeply on Mats Ek‘s Sleeping Beauty. it just might. Sleep on it and see.
Sleeping Beauty is at the Edinburgh Playhouse, Tue 31 Aug—Thu 2 Sep, 7.30pm. Giselle is at the same venue Mon 23—Wed 25 Aug; a programme featuring three other pieces of Mats Ek’s choreography is on Fri 27 and Sat 28.
OULLBERG BALLET
OLIVIER AWARD WINNER 1999 ‘SIMPLY THE BEST snow IN TOWN’
Daily Mail
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