In the small town of Ballyfeeny, where the cloud hangs low and people keep their secrets for good reasons, a lonely Giselle McCreedy cares for her abusive brother. The town’s inhabitants are quick to exchange gloom for glamour when the line-dancing Bratislavan Albrecht arrives in town, and for the first time Giselle dares to dream of escape.
Nominated for an Olivier Award following its London premiere, this radical reinterpretation of the romantic ballet is dark, shocking and sinister, with brilliant flashes of absurd humour. Fabulous Beast blends speech, song, stunning imagery and superb choreography in an uncompromising production on the very edges of theatre and dance.
Co-produced by Fabulous Beast with Dublin Theatre Festival. First performed at the Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin, September 2003. Also performed at the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas (2004); Barbican BITE:05; Festival Dialog Wroclaw, Poland (2007); Galway Arts Festival (2008); Perth International Arts Festival (2009); Sydney Festival (2010) and World Stage at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto (2010).
Writer and Director.
Michael Keegan-Dolan
Designer.
Sophie Charalambous
Composer.
Philip Feeney
Lighting Designer.
Adam Silverman
Original Cast.
Bill Lengfelder, Simon Rice, Mick Dolan, Daphne Strothmann, Neil Paris, Milos Galko, Benito Vladislav Soltys, Emmanuel Obeya, Christopher K Morgan, Angelo Smimmo
Taut, fraught, and packed with claustrophobic tensions, Michael Keegan-Dolan’s reworking… is about as far from its nineteenth-century classical progenitor as it is possible to get… the choreography is… visionary.
Allen Robertson, Time Out
Unique even by the standards of Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre… spectacular new show… harrowing stuff.
Brian Lavery, Irish Independent
A grim and grotesque piece of dance theatre with a disturbing contemporary resonance… fluently blends speech, movement and song in the cause of storytelling… funny, sexy, sad… the ending is a knockout… a heartbreaking reminder that Giselle’s tragedy is for all time.
Debra Craine, The Times ★★★★
