Pictures at an Exhibition

Check out my review and interview with the choreographer of the Young Vic's latest production here:

his week The Young Vic and Sadler’s Wells team up to create an exciting dance theatre production called Pictures from an Exhibition based on the torrid and tragic life and works of the 19th century Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky and his piano suites which were inspired by the paintings of his dead lover, artist and architect Victor Hartmann. It’s an admirably ambitious project, crossing genres by combining dance, movement, live music, poetry and dramatic theatre.

Director Daniel Kramer has been very successful in creating an uncomfortable sense of claustrophobia. The resulting unease is felt throughout the piece - James Fenton’s minimal verse helps to heighten the feelings of isolation felt by Mussorgsky (played by Edward Hogg) as he sank further and further towards rock bottom. However, Fenton’s contributions are let down somewhat by the acting which veers dangerously towards melodrama at times and jars with the surrealism of the dance-only sections.

Frauke Requardt uses her dancers to great effect, mixing minimalist modern styles with twists on the classically infused with influences from traditional Russian folk. She tackles the sinister depiction of Mussorgsky’s abuse suffered as a boy at the hands of his piano teacher using the character of a demon clad in neon green and orange as narrator and provocateur of Mussorgsky’s buried memories.

For the scene, Hogg wears a flesh-coloured jock strap with a baby’s milk bottle attached in place of his genitals. Either side are ping pong balls, placed as testicles. In one grotesque sequence, a female dancer dressed as a nurse cradles him like an infant as the demon reaches under his night shirt and detaches a testicle, putting it in his mouth. It is then revealed to be an egg as the demon turns towards the audience and cracks it in his mouth before spitting the contents into a bucket placed below the stage. The effect is powerful, especially for those in the front row.

Requardt’s blackly humorous choreography inspires brilliant performances by the dancers and is arguably the most compelling reason to go and see Pictures from an Exhibition. I caught up with her to talk about her involvement in the project.


What was it about this project that inspired you to be involved?

I love cross-art productions. You just learn so much about what the different art-forms are made to express best.

Had you worked with either Daniel Kramer or James Fenton before? How did you enjoy it?

I have never worked with either of them before and yes I enjoyed working with them tremendously. I bow down to James' intellect and knowledge. His poetry is just beautiful.


Being able to draw on Mussorgsky's Russian heritage must have had an influence. Where else did you look to for reference? Did you look to Hartmann's work?

Yes, we did look at Hartmann's pictures since that's what the music was written about, but we found that actually some of them were lost. James did an incredible amount of research, reading through Mussorgsky's letters and informing us about the artistic and political climate at that time in Russia. He always brought more information - paintings, letters, biographies - and he talked about Mussorgsky's contemporaries and the zeitgeist of that period. We wanted the movement to be big at times and looked at Russian soldiers dancing, but we also wanted really contemporary intricate parts that would express his suffering in a more poetic way.


How long did it take to create this production?

Ten weeks, and a lot of talking before that.

What are your hopes for Pictures from an Exhibition? How would you like it to be received?

I hope we created a meaningful piece that deserves to be in the world. I have a feeling that people will either hate it or love it, which is fine by me. I would like it to be acknowledged as the ambitious and daring piece of work that it is to me.


URL to original article on Don't Panic's site here: http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/pictures-from-an-exhibition