musical theatre than dance shoyy. ()yer hall ol
lzllman's original lilm score has been utilised. along yyith neyyly commissioned mirsic lor the big. shoyy stopping party nurnhers. And although not a single yyord is spoken or sung. on more than one occasion you l'eel as though the yyhole cast is about to hurst illto song stltllctllillg yyhich .‘ylattheyy Maltliouse struggled yyith more than most during rehearsals. 'l‘he 34-year-old has spent the past leyy years perl‘orming in rntisicals. including Bournch .l/rrry l’o/r/rr'rry. so keeping his mouth shut proy ed prohlematic at lirst. "l‘here‘s a lot ol' interaction hetyyeen characters in the shoyy and I'm so Used to musicals yyhere you just open your mouth and speak.‘ explains Malthouse. ‘Mattheyy had to keep saying. “Stop mouthing yyords." It took me ages because it yyas sheer lorce ol‘ hahilf
()riginally l'rom llelenshtrrgh. Malthouse trained as a Scottish Ballet junior associate hel‘ore moying on to the Dance School ol' Scotland. l'rom there he trayelled doyyn to London and a career in musical theatre. until an audition for lat/mm! .S‘r-r'wrr/rrrrrrly sayy him return to his dance roots. (‘ast as tllc Rcyct‘cttd .ludzts liyercreech. a religions lunatic herelt ol' a smile. Maltlrouse is also the stand-in l'or lidyyard Scissorhands himsell‘. It‘s a role he teels is perfect l'or dance. ’l‘m a huge tan ol' the lilm and thought it yyas a lantastic idea to put it on stage because in the lilm lidyyard says yery little.‘ says .\lalthouse. 'lle's almost a mute character. but he conyeys so much yy ith his physicality and his ey es.'
With tyyo l'eet ol metal attached to each arm. the character ol lidyyard posed quite a challenge
l‘or Bourne. l'nahle to hit due to his lack ol'
hands. the only \yay our hero can dance properly yyith his heloyed Kim is through lantasy which is exactly yyhat Bourne creates. llay'ing receiy ed a makeoy er. the local hedges spring into life tor a "l'opiary Ballet' during which lidyyard and Kim perform a touching pas de deux sans scissors. So lar hoth perl‘ormers yy ho play lidyyard haye remained lit and healthy. meaning Malthouse has yet to step into the title role. But yyith a home croyy d watching in lidinhurgh and (ilasgoyy he‘s hopeful for a shot at the lead. ‘I might lime to slip one of the boys something that night.’ he laughs.
Malthouse isn‘t the only one yyho‘ll have the lamily out in l‘orce. Hailing from Aberdeen and (ilasgoyy respectiyely. .lames l.eece (pictured. top right) and .\likah Smillie haye perl'orrned in seyeral .\'e\y :\dyentures productions. For Leece in particular. joining Bourne‘s company was a dream come true. Although he yy as originally
Strange Adventures
Matthew Bourne isn't the only choreographer to take unusual source material as the basis for a dance piece. Here are some more shows without a dying swan or mouse king in sight.
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Constant Speed
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sounds; of classsacat music. ra/x and drgrtal samplings; hot r‘oyvolvod around tho doquhttul song; of tho Australran Prod Butchor Brrd.
destined for a career in classical ballet. a trip to the theatre as a teenager set the 20-year-old on a dil‘l‘erent path. '\\'hen l yyas in my tinal year at the Royal Ballet School we were taken to see Matthew‘s Slur/r lek(’ and l \yas hloyyn ayyay hy
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it.‘ he recalls. ‘l'p to that point I'd only really \yanted to do classical hallet. hut that opened my cy es to other lorrns ol' dance. .'\lter that l alyyays kept an eye on what \lattheyy \yas up to.’ Seyeral years and si\ audition attempts later. l.eece \yas linally united to join the company tor a reyiyal ol‘ .S'rr'rrrr lulu: going on to play the lead role in last year's ll/g/r/rrrrr/ /*/rrrc' and ls'irn‘s trouble making hoyt'riend in lat/nan/ .X‘r'rywr'lrrrrrr/x. l-or him. Bourne's accessible style is the key to the cornPany\ increasng success. '.\latthe\y's main priority is that the audience kttoyy whats going on. and that the storytelling is clear and yyittyf says l.eece. "l'he characters are \ery lilclikc and people can relate to situations. It's not alien like classical hallet can he sornetirnes.‘
Smillie agrees. ‘lt has an oyerall appeal and that‘s \yhat I enjoy perlorrning in a shoyy that eyeryhody can get something otrt ol‘. regardless of hackground. and \yhether they knoyy ahout dance or not.' Smillie‘s o\yn hackground lies in ahstract dance. hut since joining Bourne‘s company her acting technique has sharpened considerahly. .-\lternating hetyyeen tour dill’erent characters in lit/nun! .S'r‘rsmrlrrrrrr/y. on any giyen night Srnillie could lind hersell playing the toyytl yi\en. a child. the mayor's yyil'e or an elderly yersion ot' lidyyard‘s loy e interest. Kim. 'lt‘s been quite a challenge tor me.‘ admits Smillie. At the beginning she l'elt like someone yyith a split personality. ‘I kept thinking. yyhich person am I at the moment an eight-year-old or a (ill-year- old'.’ But it keeps me on my toes.‘
Working yyith Bourne has also been a learning curye l‘or Rachel .\lorroyy. yy ho yyill he yyell knoyyn to dance tans north ol' the horder l‘or her yyork yyith Scottish l)ance 'l‘heatre. X l‘actor and l)a\'id llughes. .\lorroyy has lel‘t behind her lidinhurgh ahode to tour yy ith [fr/Hun] .S'r'r'ywr/rumlx until spring 2007. playing lisrneralda liyercreech. A contemporary dancer knoyyn l'or more abstract \york. .‘ylorroyy has had a lot ol‘ tun creating trom scratch the role ol the stern reyerend‘s yyil‘e. “She’s great to play.. says Morroyy. '.-\ttd it's so loy'cly to do a shoyy that you just knoyy people are going to enjoy. The story and characterisatitin take you on a journey. the music is yery heautil'ul and the designs are l‘antastic. so the audience can just immerse Illc‘ttlsc‘lVCs in the production.‘
Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 7-Sat 11 Feb; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 11-Sat 15 Apr.
;-:l. .3 , THE LIST 15