He ain’t heavy, he’s my brotherston
There have been a whole host of filmed dance works over the past nine months or so but Scottish Ballet’s The Secret Theatre might be the one that has the longest shelf life. Following a loose Nutcracker-style narrative, a young boy finds himself in a closed theatre and stumbles into a magical back-stage world where he fights to elude the clutches of the evil Snow Queen, a vindictive woman who enjoys nothing more than turning people into Snow Wolves.
Using festive characters choreographed by Peter Darrell and Christopher Hampson, and music from Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Frank Moon, it’s all linked together very nicely and has a simple but effective story that’s made clear without use of words or subtitles. It’s quite old-school in that sense but the cinematography is what brings it into the 21st century; it’s constantly on the move and loves nothing more interacting with the dancers.
On top of everything, someone made the genius decision to ask Lez Brotherston (Matthew Bourne’s go-to man) to design the sets and costumes. He’s perfect for the job and the close-up high-definition cameras reveal every tiny detail in the vast array of costumes. It’s not all sequins and tutus mind – he’s looked towards cabaret as much as classical ballet and The Secret Theatre is all the more effective for that.
At the moment you can watch The Secret Theatre for free on the Scottish Ballet website until midnight on Christmas Eve (although you need to book the tickets in advance). I really hope, though, that it gets picked up by one of the national TV networks – it makes brilliant Christmas family viewing and could be making people happy for years to come.
Gerard Davis
Dancing Review 
Excellent.
And thanks you so much for a great year of reviews.