Rambert’s Comedy of Change
Hugo Glendinning
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species changed our world and turned the scientific establishment on its head. And now it’s the inspiration behind a ballet.
As innovative as the man himself, The Comedy of Change ballet is the brainchild of the fabulous Rambert dance company, the UK’s foremost contemporary dance group. And in, an intriguing evolutionary twist, it was inspired by creative director Mark Baldwin’s long-standing friendship with Darwin’s great-grandson.
Courtship dances and display, survival of the fittest, and the evolution of camouflage: Darwin’s theories are narrated through costume, music and movement with the vigour and passion we have come to expect from the Rambert. Incredibly skilled dancers deliver a high-energy performance where even the tiniest movement is considered and precise, and the interpretation of the themes is fresh and imaginative (at one point, a dancer is wrapped in silver foil and then stripped of his shell, leaving a cast or fossil). And as with all of Rambert’s productions, The Comedy of Change presents an original score which complements the subject of the show perfectly by conjuring the sounds of the wild.
Contemporary dance and the father of evolution aren’t necessarily logical ingredients for an instant show stopper, but the Rambert makes it look like natural selection.
The Comedy of Change tour starts in Aberdeen at His Majesty’s Theatre on the 25 February and travels through Brighton, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Mold, Newcastle and Sheffield, culminating at Sadler’s Wells from the 25-29 May 2010. To find out more visit rambert.org.uk.
