Review: Shadows of War - the Birmingham Royal Ballet, at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday, October 11.

 

ROLLING piano figures guide our eyes to Ian Spurling’s bold art deco designs in this late 1930s daydream of fun in the sunshine about to be sullied by the storm clouds of war.

La Fin du Jour is the first in this extremely varied triple bill and arguably the most moving as we view happy, carefree youth at play in that last mayfly summer before Europe is plunged into darkness.

The youngsters are dressed to thrill rather than kill and the mood of one last party before the balloon goes up is brilliantly conveyed by the twin forces of Ravel’s music and Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography.

At times, the piece almost becomes an exercise in gymnastics as Nao Sakuma, Jamie Bond, Maureya Lebowitz and Mathias Dingman deliver lift after stunning lift.

Occasionally, the sheer precision of the display almost hints at an Olympic Games in miniature, perhaps Nuremburg in 1936, when the world was finally forced to view the writing on the wall.

In complete contrast we then had Miracle in the Gorbals, a resounding triumph for veteran choreographer Gillian Lynne, who deservedly won thunderous applause from an ecstatic Birmingham Hippodrome audience on this world premiere night.

Elisha Willis excels here. Her portrayal of the prostitute was a study in strut and tease, a classic and sassy piece of acting that provided yet another showcase for her supreme talents.

She was Mary Magdalen to Iain Mackay’s Minister… or was it really John the Baptist in mortal form? The plot thickens.

Miss Lynne gives this piece the big Hollywood musical treatment, ensemble scenes overflowing with the energy and vitality of a tough and at times brutal neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, Adam Wiltshire’s opening design of a ship secured by chains provides a fitting metaphor for a workforce enslaved by one form of oppressor and under air attack by another.

Even the cowardly attack by the razor gang – Birmingham’s dreaded Peaky Blinders come to mind - is transformed, horror becoming beauty in the same awful moment.

The last in this trilogy is Flowers of the Forest, with David Bintley’s choreography exploding across the stage in a blur of kilts and colour. Nevertheless, I must confess that there’s just a little too much Highland flinging, swirling and skirling for my liking.

As someone who has often heard the tune of the title performed by pipers at the annual Armistice Day service held at the Menin Gate, Ypres, I must confess to having remained dry-eyed throughout.

There was almost no sense of poignancy and this was a major omission.

Unfortunately, Malcolm Arnold’s and Benjamin Britten’s relentlessly over-dramatic score is the main problem here. However, the dancing, once again featuring our golden girls Nao and Elisha, still make this a glorious night to remember.

Shadows of War is running at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday, October 11, before moving to Sadler’s Wells later this month.

JOHN PHILLPOTT