A curate’s egg, flashes of brilliance but with a first third of tedious mire, Kidd Pivot company’s Assembly Hall, about an amateur medieval re-enactment society, will divide audiences. If you are expecting dance you will be surprised by what seems to be a play. Hyper articulated gestures and physical movement lip synched to voice-over dialogue in choreographer Crystal Pite and writer/director Jonathon Young’s now familiar style start the show, goes on and on and one longs for some dance.
A curate’s egg, flashes of brilliance but with a first third of tedious mire
A parody of committee meetings with their rules and the tricky question (whether to dissolve the society) endlessly postponed provide humour as do comments like ‘Are you dead?’ to Dave (Gregory Lau) lying on the floor, the supernumerary member only there to fill a quorum.
Eventually there is choreography of such brilliance you understand why Crystal Pite may be the most sought after choreographer of the moment. There are stunning solos and duets, performed with incredible skill, swirling pivots, lifts, interspersed with echoes of the physical theatre, a maiden in distress in white who throws back her long black hair in a pose as histrionic as Sarah Bernhardt, and memorable images, the king in tall pointed crown, or the society in full Arthurian armour in stilted moves enacting a battle to Tchaikovsky’s First Piano concerto. What is real life and what is mythic history is unclear as motifs and themes intermingle such as the maiden’s ‘wound’ which will never be healed and at last this is a show to remember.
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SCOTTISH PREMIERE
The boundaries between reality and myth crumble in Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young’s imaginative new dance work.
Combining Arthurian cosplay and contemporary dance, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young present their ‘beguiling and completely bonkers’ (The Times) new dance work, following their Olivier Award-winning piece Revisor.
Set in a crumbling community hall, a group of medieval re-enactors gather for their Annual General Meeting. However, things are not looking good. Membership has taken a nosedive, debts are creeping up and the group has become divided into opposing factions. Unless something drastic happens, the re-enactment society will be shut down forever. But as the meeting progresses, the lines blur between past and present, reality and myth. Ancient forces have woken and it becomes increasingly clear that the quest to save their society from dissolution is a matter of life and death.
Kidd Pivot’s award-winning productions seamlessly blend dance and theatre. Jonathon Young’s recorded text is married with Crystal Pite’s razor-sharp, witty choreography to create a genre-defying piece woven together by two masterful storytellers.
A keepsake freesheet is available at the venue for this performance.
Crystal Pite Choreographer & Director
Jonathon Young Writer & Director
Owen Belton, Alessandro Juliani & Meg Roe Composers & Sound Designers
Jay Gower Taylor Set Designer
Nancy Bryant Costume Designer
Tom Visser Lighting Designer
Cybèle Young Video Designer
Eric Chad Show Control and Sound Programmer
Eric Beauchesne Assistant to the Creators
Cast: Brandon Alley, Livona Ellis, Rakeem Hardy, Gregory Lau, Doug Letheren, Rena Narumi, Ella Rothschild, Renée Sigouin
Meg Roe Voice Director
Voices
Ryan Beil Dave
Marci T. House Gail
Alessandro Juliani Boyd
Meg Roe Bonnie
Gabrielle Rose Glenda
Amanda Sum Mae
Vincent Tong Woody
Jonathon Young Shaun
Co-produced by Edinburgh International Festival, Sadler’s Wells, Théâtre de la Ville, Centro Servizi Culturali Santa Chiara, National Arts Centre, Seattle Theatre Group, Canadian Stage, DanceHouse, Danse Danse, Le Diamant & Electric Company Theatre.
