The heroes of George Orwell’s novel… will dance
On January 21 the capital will host the premiere of the dystopian ballet “1984.Another”.
The production, set to the music of the contemporary Icelandic composer and renowned cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, was staged by “Kyiv Modern Ballet” soloists Illia Miroshnichenko and Kateryna Kuznetsova. The performance will be shown on the stage of the Kyiv Municipal Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre for Children and Youth.
“‘1984.Another’ is a dystopian ballet based on George Orwell’s novel, built on a completely new reading of the well-known story — different characters, a fresh understanding of global social issues,” emphasised Vasylyna Sukhoplecheva, head of the “Kyiv Modern Ballet” PR service. “If you are in the minority — even alone — it does not mean you are mad. But will you be able to resist an entire system whose scale knows no borders? Will you manage to prove to everyone around you and, above all, to yourself, that the world is not only a thirst for power, cynicism and complacency? Will you find in the hearts of others that long-forgotten feeling — love? That is what our theatre’s new production is about.”
By the way, this season Orwell’s novel inspires various directors. Thus, the Theatre on Podil added a new work to its repertoire — “1984”, which “Den” wrote about. The performance, based on the controversial play by Michael Gene Sullivan after the world-famous dystopian novel by George Orwell, was staged by Serhii Pavliuk, chief director of the Kherson Kulish Theatre. That premiere caused a wide stir among audiences and critics, and now we will soon see the movement-and-choreography version of the work — “1984.Another” from the “Kyiv Modern Ballet” theatre.
“People are ghosts, people are empty shells leading their aimless existence on the edge of reality and the dictator’s imposed will. Their life is a self-sacrificing deception in which they find their salvation, their faith, their truth. But what will happen to them if the deception is suddenly revealed? Whose side will they choose? In his novel ‘1984’ George Orwell gave us his answer. And our dystopian ballet is ready to give its own. ‘1984.Another’ is, above all, our response to the eternal problems of the individual’s existence within the social order and society as such,” say Illia Miroshnichenko and Kateryna Kuznetsova, who are not only the ballet’s choreographers but also the performers of the lead roles.
Light, in the new production, becomes the main antagonist of the performance. Audiences can expect new movement solutions combining body percussion (when the body is a musical instrument), physical theatre and contemporary choreography. The dystopian ballet “1984.Another” is set to music by Hildur Guðnadóttir (author of soundtracks to HBO’s “Chernobyl” and the film “Joker”, an Oscar nominee) and the German composer-pianist Hauschka (a Golden Globe nominee for the music to “Lion”, author of the music for the series “Patrick Melrose”). As the theatre explained, the stage design uses unusual sets (paper; 300 m of chains; 65 sq. m of agrofibre; 45 sq. m of metal mesh) devised by Volodymyr Chumachenko.
Nine “Kyiv Modern Ballet” artists perform in the show: Illia Miroshnichenko (He), Kateryna Kuznetsova (She); and their colleagues, who play the others — All: Vladyslav Dobshynsky, Kateryna Kurman, Roman Kushnerevych, Oleksandra Maksymchuk, Valeriia Melnychuk, Violetta Petrolai and Dmytro Pohribnichenko.
Tetyana Polishchuk, “Den”
Newspaper No. 6 (2020)
