Choreography by Lucas Jervies – Music by Aram
Khachaturian
Costume and set design by Jerome Arum – Lighting
design by Benjamin CisterneFights directed by Nigel Poulton
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. 9 -24 November 2018
Performance on 9th November reviewed by
Bill Stephens
Charged with creating a new production of this work, as
the centre-piece of The Australian Ballet’s 2018 season, Lucas Jervies and his
designer, Jerome Kaplan, have chosen a completely different path, ignoring the
familiar iconography of ancient Rome in favour of sparse, impressionistic
imagery and a muted colour palette, to create an allegorical work referencing
modern totalitarian regimes as a reminder that this kind of tyranny still
exists.
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| Spartacus - Artists of the Australian Ballet - Jarryd Madden (Spartacus) centre |
In this world, gladiators dressed in sleek tailored
trunks, with skin untouched by the sun, eschew weapons to fight bare-knuckled
on pristine floors for the entertainment of pajama-clad Romans who lounge in
lofty stands, or inhabit huge bathhouses where they cavort sensuously in
steaming tubs.
The opening scene, the first of several spectacular
set-pieces, has young men and women, dressed in white shorts and tunics
reminiscent of Hitler youth, manipulating red flags to welcome the victorious
Crassus with his prisoners, who include Spartacus and his wife Flavia. The
couple are separated and sold at a slave auction, with Spartacus bought by a
gladiator trainer, and Flavia claimed by Crassus for his household.
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| Jarryd Madden (Spartacus) - Callum Linnane (Hermes) |
It’s no fault of the dancers that despite the
gladiatorial battles being strikingly staged, with the sound of blows clearly
audible above the music, the fights feel less affecting than might have been
the case had traditional weaponry been employed. However the gladiators attack
each other with fearsome intent, posturing extravagantly and slapping the floor
to add drama to the sparsely populated crowd scenes, which include an uprising in
which the gladiators topple of giant statue of a clenched fist with pointed index
finger, and the stunning final scene in which the recaptured, blood-drenched
gladiators are displayed on stark white plinths.
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| Spartacus - Artists of the Australian Ballet |
The most memorable scene takes place in a huge
steaming bathhouse where the highlight is a lovely dance for the female slaves,
and in which Spartacus rescues Flavia while his compatriots drown the
unfortunate occupants of the tubs. This scene also highlight’s Jervies’ choreographic
strength for staging group dances where he frequently uses the upper body and
waving hands to create striking visual effects. His choreography for his
soloists is less impressive often straining to meet the expectations created by
Khachaturian’s stirring score.
Adam Bull displayed great presence as Crassus, and
Lana Jones oozed glamour and decadence, as his wife, Tertulla, especially in
her sexy second act solo. Replacing the previously announced Kevin Jackson at
short notice, Jarryd Madden, proved a
charmingly boyish Spartacus, convincingly tender in his love for Flavia, and
pulling out all stops in his rage at Crassus at being forced to kill his best friend Hermes
(Callum Linnane) in gladiatorial battle.
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| Robyn Hendricks (Flavia) - Jarryd Madden (Spartacus) |
As his wife Flavia, Robyn Hendricks matched Madden’s performance
every inch of the way and although their ecstatic dancing of their final pas de
deux provided a heart-wrenching prelude for the stunning final scene, it was a
pity that she was not provided with more inventive choreography with which to
express her anguish than flailing around and repeatedly dropping to the floor
in response to the loud, mournful pounding of Khachaturian’s majestic score.