Mary-Jane O'Reilly's re-imagining of the classic ballet Giselle Act 2, brings to bear her pop-art cabaret sensibilities and her classical virtuosity.

The setting has been transposed from a forest to the Forest Bar -a louche hang-out for a group of women - the Cynics: disillusioned and jilted, who no longer believe in the naïve discredited concept of true love.

 

The era is the late 1940s -  reflected in the classic post-war black and white contours and romantic melodrama of Film Noir - steeped in the stark and oppressive atmosphere of incipient menace.  The Cynics begin in svelte vintage skirts, jackets, hats of the era interspersed with transitions into classical mid-calf tutus covered in a layer of black tulle.

The story references Giselle the ballet throughout, both in its movement vocabulary and in the depiction of its characters.  The young peasant girl Giselle becomes an innocent abroad, an ingenue whose belief in love is enduring even in the face of mockery from the world-weary Cynics (the Wilis in the original Romantic era ballet) And the queen of their matriarchy is the Ice Queen (Myrtha the Queen of the Wilis) a cold-hearted and intransigent mother figure.

Albrecht and Hilarion as brash, self-confident ‘princes of the street’ are young men, clothed in sharp vintage suits and hats caught up in their own machismo. They are treated with disdain and suspicion by the Cynics and especially the Ice Queen who rules the roost.

Their future is not looking good when they happen upon the rituals of these embittered women at the Forest Bar.

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"Water is a thematic symbol keying us into the internal worlds of the performers, it melts, solidifies, and drips at key transitions. Co-creatives Mary Jane & Phil O’Reilly’s sharp eye for symbolism and historicity is clear. I was personally taken with the delicate references to classical Giselle that in no-way overpowers modern narratives."

Teianna Chenkovich - Theatreview 
 

​"I certainly found new resonance in this innovative and stylish treatment of the Giselle story, which incorporates both old and new elements—bringing the timeless themes of broken trust and hearts, forgiveness and love, up against the forces of vengeance and cynicism.

 It’s emotionally nuanced, tight and spare, savvy and sexy​"​

Jennifer Shennan - Michelle Potter... on dancing

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