Lilian Baylis, Saddler’s Wells
June 2016
Written by Aletta Lawson
Directed by Anastasia Revi
Rudolf Nureyev is dying of AIDS. Refusing to accept his fate, and in his desperate hunger for life he invokes the ghost of Margot Fonteyn to find redemption. With Margot he relives his youth, his hardships, his destructive love affair with Erik Bruhn and his stupendous success as a dancer. But he and Margot see the past with very different eyes and gradually he is forced to confront himself – the biggest battle of his life. The journey that these two utterly different people – both blazing talents – embark upon is not only a love story of a kind, but is intricately woven from the very roots and fibres that made Rudolf Nureyev both a cantankerous child and consummate artist.
This is a dynamic performance based on the life of the famous ballerina. With dance, music and the visual choreography of Theatre Lab Company, Rudolf Nureyev relives some of the most important moments of his life: his early life and rise to fame from humble beginnings, his time at the Vaganova Ballet Academy, his defect from the Soviet Union, his loves, his passions, his most memorable performances with Margot Fonteyn and other prima ballerinas, and his final decline with advancing AIDS.
Credits
Performers
Rudolf Nureyev Benny Maslov
Margot Fonteyn Jo Price
Ellie/ Xenia Pushkin Helen Bang
Chelkov/ KGB Agent Korkin/ Eric Bruhn/ Tito De Arias/ Rudolf’s Father
Konstantinos Kavakiotis
Sergei/ Irina Ilovna/ Maria Tallchief Denise Moreno
Rezida Nureyev/ Clara Saint Carolin Ott
Dr Canesi/ Pushkin/ KGB Agent Striszevski /Raymundo DeLarrain/ Cecil Beaton/ Interviewer Peter Rae
Creative and Production Team
Written by Aletta Lawson
Directed by Anastasia Revi
Designed by Maira Vazeou
Lighting by Yiannis Katsaris
Producers Martina Reynolds
Giannis Exintaris
Press Kevin Wilson Public Relations
Production Photography Cambridge Jones Photography
Accent Coach Deborah Garvey
Ballet choreography Benny Maslov
Jo Price’s red dress in performance Hiroshi Goto
Chaise Longue (in performance) Alan Brooker
Stage Manager Graham Broadbent
Camera for film Panos Kallos
Editor Miltiadis Boumis
Promotional Photoshoot
Photography Josh Brandão and Nicolai Kornum
Costumes Hiroshi Goto
Make-up Anna Durstan
Sadler’s Wells Staff
Technical Managers Roman Bozdyk, Fraser Thompson- Noble
Events Manager Pascha Rix