Shakespeare and Ballet: Sydney Opera House Visits

A couple of years ago, had someone suggested to me the possibility that I would enjoy a ballet more than a Shakespeare performance, I would have probably told them they were nutty. Dance was not something I was interested in in the least. I, like many stereotypical guys, simply never gave the art form much thought. However, I was very much into theatre and Shakespeare is obviously the epitome of playwright. I enjoyed reading Shakespeare, enjoyed performing Shakespeare, and watching Shakespeare. I still do immensely. However, I have also learned to love dance. I am awful at rhythm which makes it extremely difficult for me to dance, but I have learned to love watching dance performances.

This love for the art form came about due to a handful of events. I watched movies such as West Side Story and Singin' in the Rain. I went with friends to see Prince Caspian: The Ballet (which was pretty awful, but epic). I briefly dated a dancer. I made friends with other dancers. I heard that Darren Aronofsky was making a ballet movie and began looking up more and more about the art due to interest in the film--and I thoroughly enjoyed Black Swan when it came out. Throughout the last few years, I have attended many theatre performances, several of which have included dance numbers. Gradually, I began to think of dance as an art form I wished I could do. It is an expression using the beauty of the human body in ways that I wish I had the capabilities to mimic.

Meanwhile, my love for Shakespeare has also grown. I have read a few, seen a few, and performed in a few in the last couple of years. Many of my close friends are lovers of Shakespeare as well. I got to see an incredible performance of Macbeth at the Globe. Shakespearean acting, while not necessarily my largest strength is something that I am capable of doing. His plays are incredible works full of so much power and profound ideas. They speak to me. I love studying them and working on them. It is, in my mind, right to call him the greatest playwright to have ever lived. Given that there are no things I love more than theatre, there's nothing I would rather have a career in than theatre, no art form I enjoy more than theatre, it should come as no surprise that I hold the greatest playwright in extremely high esteem.

So, when I say that I decided I was going to see Much Ado, About Nothing at the Sydney Opera House, it was kind of a big deal. Meanwhile, I also decided I was going to get a ticket to British Liaisons, a ballet about which I knew relatively little--I simply wanted to see several different shows at the Opera House while I have the opportunity. I bought my ticket for Much Ado, getting a nice seat just a few rows back from the stage and to the house right side. I put off buying the British Liaisons ticket because I was not quite as enthusiastic about it--I definitely wanted to see it but I didn't have such a high preference about where I was going to be seated.

So, Much Ado was a week ago. And I did enjoy the show. My view was good, nothing super special, but not bad. The lead actors playing Benedick and Beatrice were great. Don Pedro and Claudio were enjoyable as well. The smaller roles were a mixed bag, some being quite good, some being just okay. Don John was an interesting but ultimately dull take on the character. Dogberry made me cringe, because he was flat and boring when he should have stolen the show. Transitions in the piece were strange--actors occasionally would come on upstage slowly setting up the next scene while dialogue was still going on downstage. This was very distracting and annoying. Random moments using musical instruments throughout the show added very little and often detracted. Don Pedro, Claudio, and Don John bowed at the Interval completely shattering all suspension of disbelief. Oh and did I mention that Dogberry was just bad? To their credit, the set design was quite interesting--rather than around a garden, they placed the action inside a pool room. Quite interesting and very good use of the pool table--Benedick using all his strength to push the pool table closer when he overhears Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio talking was hilarious. But overall, the show was rather lackluster.

Now, to be fair, I have a history with Much Ado. Seeing a Milligan production of it is one of the earliest plays I remember watching--Lee Blackburn played Benedick; more importantly to me, Ben Lee played Dogberry (which has made it hard for me to enjoy any interpretations that are not similar to Ben's). Then, in high school, I was in Much Ado, playing Don John. I have read the play multiple times. I have, of course, seen the Kenneth Brannagh film. I probably know no other Shakespeare play better than I know Much Ado. Thus, I was let down watching Much Ado at the Opera House. It was also this performance that made me realize just how small the theatre industry in Australia really is. The fact of the matter is, there aren't that many actors here. There's not that much competition. The overall quality of theatre here simply is not as good as many of the theatres in the United States or Britain. It is a sad fact--and not one that I'm throwing out there just because of Much Ado; this is something that has been talked about at Wesley while I've been studying there.

So, I was let down by Much Ado--though, really, it was enjoyable and I don't regret going at all. Now, about British Liaisons....

When I went to buy my ticket, I simply intended to buy one for a cheap seat. I quickly discovered that the show was close to selling out. As I looked through the available seats, I saw one that stood out to me, one that I strongly debated about buying. This seat was located in the dead center of the front row of the balcony. In other words, it was, literally, the best seat in the Sydney Opera House. It also cost a lot of money. Every other seat in that row was sold out. In fact, almost every other seat in that entire price bracket was sold out. And there the single best seat was looking at me, tempting me. After much debate, I decided that, while I do intend to return to Australia some day, it is unlikely that I would ever have the opportunity to pick the best seat in the venue again. Thus, I bought an expensive ticket for a show that I still didn't know that much about--and a ballet at that; me being someone who really doesn't know that much about dance.

Well, let me tell you. Walking up the red-carpeted steps to an area of seating where the vast majority of the other audience members are elderly men and women who clearly frequent the ballet was just a bit intimidating. I was seated between two old women and felt rather awkward and out of place. Then the show began. British Liaisons is actually a compilation of three ballets of differing styles from different eras. The first ballet, Checkmate, was based on the game of chess: the dancers played the chess pieces dancing across a chessboard. In the story they told, the Black Queen seduced the Red Knight who is commanded to fight her by the Red King. After their duel the Red Knight is about to strike the Black Queen down when he finds himself unable to do so. The Queen takes his sword and kills him. Then the black pieces take over the board and slay the Red King. The story was simple but told beautifully.

The second piece, After the Rain, was much more minimalist. Complex lifts and turns took place as smooth as water. The most impressive part was a pas de duex (duet with 2 dancers) of incredible power and beauty. The dancers moved across the bare stage painting an incredible picture of beauty that, frankly, I cannot describe. I was nearly moved to tears. As the piece ended, the entire theatre was silent. Then, applause exploded throughout. The piece was brief, but it was one of the strongest, most beautiful works of art I have ever witnessed.

The third ballet, Concerto, was also quite excellent and technically amazing. Many dancers moved across the stage constantly in sync with one another. They moved as if they were all of one body. It was a wonderfully done piece, though it was not quite as incredible and moving as After the Rain.

During the Intervals, there were two brief ones, one of the women next to me began talking to me. First, she asked me if I were a dancer, saying she thought I might be. Then, when I told her that no, I was an actor, she began telling me about coming to the ballet with her late husband. She was a precious lady, reminding me of an Irish nun in Paris once upon a time who gave directions to me and some friends to Notre Dame and the disappeared (true story). This woman, after the show ended, wished me luck with my studies and that I would manage to be in the right place at the right time and thus have a good career. Somehow, I felt that her wishes were more like commands. She was encouraging and kind and meeting her was a blessing.

In case you haven't noticed, I enjoyed the ballet far more than I enjoyed Much Ado. I do not regret purchasing the ticket I did at all. My seat truly was the best seat in the Opera House. I could see everything perfectly. I was moved to another world throughout it. Granted, I don't know the technical aspects of ballet and thus go into the show with less biased. However, watching British Liaisons, especially After the Rain, I felt like I was watching something special that I won't soon forget. Watching Much Ado, I felt like I was watching a decent production that I won't remember in detail for long. Both experiences were good, but gosh... I wish I could dance.

PS. The Drama Theatre at the Opera House isn't nearly as nice as the Concert Hall. Just in case you were wondering.


PPS. British Liaisons trailer, doesn't really do it justice though.