Tasman Clark
The Scottish Ballet traveled across the globe to perform A Streetcar Named Desire as the cherry on top of the Auckland Arts Festival. An interpretation of Tennessee Williams’ classic Broadway play, it is a piece that translated beautifully into a ballet show. A quick summary, for those who don’t know, the show follows Blanche DuBois as she leaves her family home to follow her sister, Stella, in New Orleans.
The show is solely visual, no dialogue was spoken, which means a lot was riding on not just the performers, but the sets and lighting too. The sets were simple, yet elegant. The opening location, the DuBois’ family home in Mississippi, is displayed on a backdrop which from the audience looks like a solid wall, but as the family lose the home and Blanche leaves to New Orleans, the whole wall comes crashing towards the audience and breaking into pieces; revealing the backdrop was built out of crates. For the rest of the show, most of the small props and levels of stage were built using these crates, showing us that the sister’s life in New Orleans was built by the, not exclusively wholesome, memory of home and family.
Supporting the set work was the lighting, which was sharp, distinct and dramatic. Supported by fog that filled the stage, there were strong lights at the far back of the stage, backlighting most of the scenes, while incandescent bulbs hung above the performers allowing us to envision the period that this show is set in. Some of these incandescent bulbs were used as props too, such as when Blanche and Mitch hang a lampshade over one of the lights.
With the lack of dialogue, the space was instead audibly filled with the orchestra that resided in the pit. The music was uniquely varied, ranging from big band jazz pieces during the New Orleans dances, to classical ballet strings when two lovers circle each other, all the way to dark ambient electronic beats when a psychological thriller is playing on stage. One of my favourite musical aspects was during the arrival into New Orleans, where Blanche steps off the train. The setting starts with a foley atmos of a train chugging along, that slowly turns into a rhythmical beat, and becomes the foundational core of the musical piece that is then played.
I feel I lack the technical phrasing to put the dances themselves into words; but I was absolutely enthralled by the pure talent I witnessed on stage. Especially during the love scenes, where the dancers showed their flexibility and synergy with one another; folding, flipping and fluidly demonstrating the tension and chemistry that the characters are feeling on stage. Alongside their clear lead performances, their ability to also transition between scenes felt natural. Before you knew it, new characters were on stage in a whole new location, but it never felt jagged or confusing. It was one smooth piece from the start to the end.
The Scottish Ballet have put on a show that even those that have an irk towards ballet (me) can have their minds completely changed on what a ballet show could be. I felt the performances intertwined with the production behind it delivered a show that constantly kept my heart skipping a beat, and I left wanting to see more modern interpretations of stage classics. More info on the season that was, here.
Supporting the set work was the lighting, which was sharp, distinct and dramatic. Supported by fog that filled the stage, there were strong lights at the far back of the stage, backlighting most of the scenes, while incandescent bulbs hung above the performers allowing us to envision the period that this show is set in. Some of these incandescent bulbs were used as props too, such as when Blanche and Mitch hang a lampshade over one of the lights.
With the lack of dialogue, the space was instead audibly filled with the orchestra that resided in the pit. The music was uniquely varied, ranging from big band jazz pieces during the New Orleans dances, to classical ballet strings when two lovers circle each other, all the way to dark ambient electronic beats when a psychological thriller is playing on stage. One of my favourite musical aspects was during the arrival into New Orleans, where Blanche steps off the train. The setting starts with a foley atmos of a train chugging along, that slowly turns into a rhythmical beat, and becomes the foundational core of the musical piece that is then played.
I feel I lack the technical phrasing to put the dances themselves into words; but I was absolutely enthralled by the pure talent I witnessed on stage. Especially during the love scenes, where the dancers showed their flexibility and synergy with one another; folding, flipping and fluidly demonstrating the tension and chemistry that the characters are feeling on stage. Alongside their clear lead performances, their ability to also transition between scenes felt natural. Before you knew it, new characters were on stage in a whole new location, but it never felt jagged or confusing. It was one smooth piece from the start to the end.
The Scottish Ballet have put on a show that even those that have an irk towards ballet (me) can have their minds completely changed on what a ballet show could be. I felt the performances intertwined with the production behind it delivered a show that constantly kept my heart skipping a beat, and I left wanting to see more modern interpretations of stage classics. More info on the season that was, here.