To hear that a company is performing a classic poem like The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner with dance, acrobatics and music is the sort of combination of ideas and media that can leave a critic running for cover. Often physicality covers for poor acting, or is done half-heartedly. Luckily, the five performers of Rime can boast true and considerable assorted talents and have made a piece an exceptional piece of theatre.
The company has wisely chosen not to simply sketch the plot of the classic tale of the cursed sea captain and his crew. Instead, the show focuses on themes and key events rather than telling a fluid narrative. Whilst at times the scenes can feel unconnected to each other, what is produced is a perfect representation of the ambience of the story rather than an attempt to recreate verse with dance. The exhaustion of the dancers who exert themselves so completely, force us to consider their character’s mortality, which is the key theme of the piece.
One cannot praise the performers enough. Musicians, dancers, gymnasts and actors in equal measure, they move from performing live sea shanties to reciting parts of the poem to exquisite portions of movement with some of the most precise unison you will see on stage. These five are at the top of their game and completely in tune with themselves and the text at hand. It is a joy and a privilege to see such talented and beautiful people doing what they love. Everything from costume to set to the great technical team should be praised for helping this piece come to fruition. Rime is something more than just a fancy circus show. It is pure, sensational art.
