tue 05/12/2023
Home > dance > The Centaur and the Animal, Sadler's Wells

The Centaur and the Animal, Sadler's Wells | reviews, news & interviews

The Centaur and the Animal, Sadler's Wells

The Centaur and the Animal, Sadler's Wells

Unforgettable theatrical imagery with horse and man and the theme of death

by Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Share
Bartabas, equestrian master, and butoh artist Ko Murobushi: A strange, mystical dialogue of horse and manAll images © Nabil Boutros/SWT

To achieve a black stage that emits or reflects no light is a hell of an achievement. To place a huge black horse with black rider onto that stage, without the slightest noise, and to contrive a black shadow on the black, is to create an image found in the fathomless wells of subconscious imagery, and the skill of that vision and realisation of it is something I doubt I'm going to forget.

To achieve a black stage that emits or reflects no light is a hell of an achievement. To place a huge black horse with black rider onto that stage, without the slightest noise, and to contrive a black shadow on the black, is to create an image found in the fathomless wells of subconscious imagery, and the skill of that vision and realisation of it is something I doubt I'm going to forget.

A tiny old man crawls blindly on the white front while behind in the black vacuum Bartabas rides his horses like shadows of death

Buy

Explore topics

Share this article

Share

Comments

Submitted by Ana (not verified) on Wed, 02/03/2011 - 11:34
Having seen the piece yesterday, I'd agree that it contains strong and even unseen images. I had more troubles than the author above to blend out the voice which evoqued very disturbing images. It was actually hard sitting through the whole piece. - For me it ended up - and this in spite of the new images provoked in conjunction with the horses, sand, light - being one of the most lengthy performance experiences. It was hard to connect to the piece, to follow the story and I also think by the marketing which had emphasised the part of the horses, the audience was a bit mislead. Many people got up and left during the performance. It is not a piece I would recommend.

Submitted by Felix (not verified) on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 09:38
When I booked the tickets I thought this show would either be brilliant or terrible. While some of the images were hauntingly beautiful and the skill of the protagonists (human and equine) not in doubt, I felt it was incredibly enigmatic and opaque and so hard to engage with emotionally. As Ismene Brown says, the spoken text was a distraction. I found the parts of the performance without verbiage by far the most successful; one almost needed to enter a trance-like state, to be mesmerised by the slowly unmoving, repeated sequences, taken to a world without words. I left feeling I'd seen something very distinctive and beautiful, but curiously unmoved.

Submitted by Katie Allen / M... (not verified) on Tue, 22/03/2011 - 15:23
This is the most hilarious show I have ever seen. The sound effects gave a great effect and set a very amusing atmosphere. They were ace, though some of it was pretentious I would definately not recommend this for younger children because some of the scenes are rather inapropiate and disturbing. However older people would definately understand this performance although it can become quite repetitive. For example: the horses on stage walk around aimlessly and shat on the stage.... but anyway it is a great show and a real joy to watch.

Add comment

more Dance

The Dante Project, Royal Ballet review - brave but flawed take on the Divine Comedy returns Hell and Purgatory get vivid if diffuse music from Thomas Adès, but Heaven is pallid
The Limit, Linbury Theatre review - a dance-theatre romcom that lacks both rom and com An attempt to amplify a playscript with dance suggests the play should be left to speak for itself
Anemoi / The Cellist, Royal Ballet review - a feast of music in a neat double bill Rachmaninov and Elgar take the laurels in a brace of prize-winning one-act ballets
Song of Songs, Pam Tanowitz/David Lang, Barbican Theatre review - sublime music and intricate dance bring life to a 2,000-year-old love poem Music and movement co-exist but don't align in a glimmering new take on an ancient text
First Person: Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang on the original Jewish love story Music, poetry and movement combine in 'Song of Songs', now running at the Barbican
Don Quixote, Royal Ballet review - crazy Russian-Spanish romcom, brilliant dancing Carlos Acosta's hugely entertaining production launches the season with gusto
Ballet Nights, Lanterns Studio Theatre review - dance gets its own cabaret season A compered gala packed with fine and varied items, but the idea still needs tweaking
Black Sabbath: The Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Hippodrome review - two very different art forms merge Carlos Acosta creates shining gold from heavy metal and ballet
Ailey 2, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury review - young, black and fabulous The younger sibling of the Alvin Ailey family visits for the first time in 12 years
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Sadler's Wells review - exhilarating display of a full deck of dance styles From stately to sexy, these fabulously physical dancers engage every emotion
Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet, Sadler's Wells review - exhilarating dancing, inventive moves New Adventures creates lovers with tender appeal for a younger generation
Jewels, The Australian Ballet, Royal Opera House review - a sparkling parade of great dancing David Hallberg's Australians are pitch perfect in Balanchine's masterpiece

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters