Rambert – Death Trap at The Lowry
Johnny James, Managing Editor
The electrifying Rambert are ticking every box with their latest show at The Lowry. Gripping story line? Check. An iconic live soundtrack? Yep. World class dancers? Always.
Rambert are, and have long been, one of the most exciting dance companies this country has to offer. Awe-inspiring, daring, dynamic and relevant, they remain trailblazers among the UK’s contemporary dance scene despite being its oldest exponent, having given their first performance nearly 100 years ago.
Hot off the heels of their knock-out Peaky Blinders show, the award-winning company are back at The Lowry with something altogether different, but no less ambitious. A meta dance comedy, full of the turbulence of life and death, Death Trap encompasses two darkly delicious dance-theatre pieces created for Rambert by Ben Duke of Lost Dog Dance – well known for storytelling that revels in the absurd, the savage and the darkly humorous.
Nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Production category in 2018, Goat is inspired by the music and spirit of Nina Simone. Specifically, it draws on the singer’s onstage intensity; the way she lived within the emotional worlds of each song – worlds of suffering, worlds of exultation – as she performed. Featuring a live on-stage band led by jazz singer Nia Lynn performing a selection of Simone’s iconic songs – from ‘Feeling Good’ to ‘I Got Life’ – the show dissects the pleasure and pain of performing, while managing to be at once funny and deeply moving.
Cerberus, meanwhile, offers up a world in which dance is literally a matter of life or death. Drawing on Greek mythology and the multi-headed dog who was thought to guard the gates of the Underworld (the titular Cerberus), the piece is a bittersweet musing on myth and mortality, complete with funeral couture, and packed with originality and wit. Reviewing Rambert in London, The Guardian described Cerberus as “mysterious, beautiful and perfectly judged”.
If you’ve been lucky enough to watch Rambert before, you don’t need us to wax lyrical about the mesmerising choreography, the incredible talent on stage, the calibre of the production surrounding the shows. If you’ve not watched them before, well… trust us, it’s quite the experience. Promising to take you from euphoria to heartbreak and back again, this powerful twin-punch is a must see from the contemporary dance world’s leading lights.
