Upstairs at the Royal Ballet, the audience enjoys Cinderella, but down in the studio theatre, the Christmas show is a version of Medea. Fairy tale above, one of the more harrowing Greek myths below. The ballet offers “joy, love, hope,” reproaches a droll Jean Daniel Broussé, “but you chose to be here instead?”
A person can have too much sugar at this time of year. Ben Duke’s show with his company Lost Dog was a smash in 2022, and returns with the same ace cast. Duke has forged a distinctive path, turning unlikely, epic material (Milton, Dickens, Shakespeare) into disarmingly wry dance theatre. Ruination is one of his best because it dials up the sombre story, daft jokes and horribly raw emotion.
