Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Legacy

“I didn't expect to be so profoundly moved by this dance troupe and their performances, but as the curtain rose to excerpts from Alvin Ailey's piece Night Creature (1974), I was hooked. A slinky group of cats (and I do mean dancers) prowled down the stage in unison, conjuring visions of Pink Panther, mixing formal classical ballet arabesques with low-slung, jazzy side-steps. The effect was mesmerizing. This company is not only impossibly and uniquely powerful, but they are able to exude heart-wrenching, palpable yearning through their movements. With all the contemporary stuff we are seeing these days, I found it incredibly moving and soothing to spend time with these 'legacy' pieces that Mr Ailey created between 1960-1989. This company occupies a space which feels extraordinary timeless and I imagine they can, and will, continue performing these works for many years to come. It was the music, oh the music, that made the entire evening transcendent. Jazz, swing, blues, R&B, gospel and soul, all woven together by Mr Ailey, drawing on African American musicians including Chuck Griffin and Duke Ellington, into a deeply expressive, soulful, vibrant and frequently celebratory arc. Every time one piece ended I wished for it to go on, but then another would begin, and it all made perfect sense.”

“I saw Inter Alia in its initial run at the National Theatre in July of 2025. It levelled me. Rosamund Pike gave everything in the 100-minute performance with no interval. As I recall, there is hardly a moment where she isn’t speaking or in motion in Suzie Miller’s devastating three-hander. The play is a must-see, Pike plays a criminal barrister, a King’s Counsel (KC), who has recently taken her place on the bench as a Crown Court judge. Her husband, played by Jamie Glover, is also a criminal barrister and KC, but was always a step or two behind Pike’s character, which creates a professional and marital tension. They have a teenage son, played by Jasper Talbot, who is beginning to have his first experiences with alcohol and parties. After seeing the show, I sent fellow Culture Curator, and dear friend, Clementine Melvin to see it. I met her afterwards, and words failed her. Such is the dramatic power of the writing and the frenetic energy of Pike’s performance. I also recommended it to a criminal barrister and KC, his words to me after seeing it – “saw Inter Alia this evening – pulverised”. It is a piece of theatre that challenges the audience and proposes a moral scenario that nobody would like to face. It is the successor to Miller’s Prima Facie which also enjoyed considerable success both at home in Australia, where Miller is from, as well as in London and New York with Jodie Comer cast in the one-woman play for the London and New York productions. That was a sellout, and I expect this will be too. It is not an easy watch, but it is a masterful display of dramatic acting and a piece that is highly relevant to our times.”

“Once the curtain came down for the first interval, I turned to my companion and asked whether she was getting John Tucker Must Die vibes. She thankfully responded: "YES". Mozart's dramma giocoso (a drama with jokes) similarly centers on the social takedown of an unrepentant, serial womanizer. The libertine, Don Juan, is played with relentless promiscuity and humour by Gordon Bintner in this production and is accompanied by the exquisitely timed comic Roberto Tagliavini as his servant. The performances of this duo are stronger than in many operas where the singing takes center stage (rightly so) and make for a fabulous and funny show. Truly, we were snickering away. Costumes by Anja Vang Kragh are incredibly impactful haute couture designs; black ink-stains fading into soft pink gowns, the names of Don Giovanni's conquests imprinted into silks, taffeta capes making me long for winter (and colder climates) and a Victorian wedding dress for which I would contemplate getting married again for. Designer of the moment Es Devlin's projection mapping (which does start of well with the scrawling of the names of the serial-seducer’s 2065 victims) is a bit of a *sigh* for me... but I overheard other people praising it - reminding me that the theatre subjective! ”