By Joy McKay.
Following their hugely successful tour of Peaky Blinders stalwarts of the British Contemporary dance scene, Rambert, are back in Southampton with Death Trap. A show of two short modern pieces by Ben Duke, connected by one intriguing theme; death.
Rambert brought Peaky Blinders to The Mayflower last year which was outstanding and, I expect, brought more ticket sales to this incredible company than any previous show. It bridged the gap between classical ballet and contemporary, bringing recognisable characters and familiar stories, albeit new ones, to a massive audience, many of whom were first timers seeing dance. It was great but, for me, it wasn’t Rambert. I was keen to see what these two new (to me) works offered.
The evening starts with Cerberus. The curtain raises to, unusually, a full drum set with live drummer and a single dancer entering from the right. Her movements are beautiful yet appear tortured as she makes her way across the stage, then she is gone. “Is Aishwarya dead? Or did she just exit stage left?” This is the premise of the remainder or the piece which is funny, sad, moving and, most importantly, avant-garde. Cerberus combines live music with dialogue, dance, dirgey techno and high fashion to tell a story of the nature of death and the afterlife, and it’s mesmerising. At the end of this performance I’m exhausted, bathed in so many interesting sights and sounds. The audience around me is buzzing, everyone talking about the emotions they are left feeling.
In the second half Goat is performed, and the dancers are joined on stage by more live musicians performing works by Nina Simone. Again the story is driven by the use of dialogue but this time under the guise of journalists with everything being reported on in real time by Alex whilst his trusty cameraman Antonello films. I really can’t explain more about Goat without spoiling it for those who may go tonight. The storyline is so unexpected, again funny and moving but also romantic and tragic. The musicians are fabulous, the dancers wonderful and athletic, the absolute masters of their craft.
Despite the theatre being much quieter than for Peaky Blinders this, for me, was a roaring success. Death Trap probably won’t be the show for everyone, but the addition of dialogue means that both stories are easy to follow and they are both fairly short and punchy too, you will not be bored. A real feast for the senses, it will make you laugh, it may make you cry and it will definitely make you think.
Welcome back Rambert, you absolute weirdos.
Tickets for Rambert: Death Trap (Wednesday 6– Thursday 7 March 2024) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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