A Young Vic/Sadler's Wells co-production

Pictures from an Exhibition

8 May 2009-
23 May 2009

'This extraordinary collaboration… an amazing nightmare, a tantalising text, the music itself is so utterly irresistible and the production is fulfilled and finished to a very high degree. One thing’s for sure: you’ll see nothing else like it all year.'

* * * * * WhatsOnStage.com - Full review...

Sadler’s Wells and the Young Vic present a trail-blazing dance theatre collaboration inspired by, and set to, Modest Mussorgsky’s classic piano suite Pictures from an Exhibition.

Watch breathtaking footage of the show on YouTube now...

Moments from death, Mussorgsky's life flashes before his eyes. Vivid memories of his past and his closest relationships return in powerful fragments, brilliantly staged by director Daniel Kramer (Angels in America at the Lyric, Punch & Judy at the Young Vic), choreographer Frauke Requardt (Associate Artist at The Place 2004-06) and poet James Fenton.

Beneath the surface of Modest Mussorgsky's classical composition, Kramer and Requardt uncover a rich seam of emotion. The most powerful urges of worship and domination, love and loss, death and commemoration burst out of the music and onto the stage in a beautiful nightmare.

"One of those rare pieces in which music dance and drama come together with outstanding results. The cast was drawn from the crème de la crème of dance theatre artists... the production quality of this work sets the bar for future dance theatre"

LondonDance.com

About the company

Edward Hogg starred in Rock 'n Roll at the Royal Court and is shortly to appear as dancing outlaw Jesco White in the film White Lightnin’
Michela Meazza's work with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures includes Edward Scissorhands and Dorian Gray
Conor Doyle, Rob McNeill, Kath Duggan, and Vinicius Salles were all featured in Punchdrunk's Masque of the Red Death and Faust
Inn Pang Ooi worked alongside the Akram Khan company in Related Rock and Rush
Margarita Zafrilla Olayo appeared in DV8’s The Cost of Living
Acclaimed concert pianist Carl Joseph is part of the dance company and plays live on stage

About the music

Generally acknowledged to be his greatest solo piano composition, Mussorgsky composed Pictures from an Exhibition in commemoration of his friend, the artist and architect Viktor Hartmann in 1874.

Consisting of ten piano pieces each inspired by a different painting or design, the work lay neglected until Ravel’s brilliant orchestration secured it a popular place in the classical repertoire.

Tickets

£22.50
Previews £15 (May 08-11)

Under 26 (inc. students)
£10 for every performance

Over 60 & unwaged
£5 off - not available for previews
and Half price Wednesday matinees

No other concessions. Under 26 tickets have limited availability per performance. Early booking is advised.

There are a limited number of free tickets for people 25 and under as part of the A Night Less Ordinary scheme. For more information or to book please call the box office on 020 7922 2922 (Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm)

* * * * There's a great deal of intellectual stimulation and visual fun to be had from this hybrid treat.
Metro

Dance needs to make more alliances like this one. Requardt delivers an emotionally lucid gamut of set pieces, from a lyrical ensemble dance for bare-breasted women and men in dervish-skirts, to the weird, dream-like massacre scene.
The Observer

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