Hans Christian Andersen meets the Pet Shop Boys in a dance show choreographed by Javier De Frutos and somehow it works.
The Most Incredible Thing at Sadler's Wells has been in the making since 2008. From the minds of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys fame, it is – to paraphrase another theatregoer – like watching two and a half hours of a really good, slightly surreal, music video.
The story is one of Hans Christian Andersen's lesser known classics penned in 1897. It's a moral tale with a princess, an underdog, a villain and bizarrely a 'Britain's Got Talent' style competition in which men compete for half the kingdom and the hand of the princess. Their task is to create the most incredible thing.
Choreographed by Javier De Frutos, the dance is big, bold and uncomplicated but memorably expressive. It's not intricate dance, and at times looks a little simplistic but did anyone really expect classic ballet from an pop music cross-over piece? This doesn't necessarily count against it though. Clearly having a ton of fun on stage, Clemmie Sveaas as the princess immediately raises smiles from the audience. Surrounded by posters and clad in simple, floaty dress and crown, she dances in her room like no one's watching. Her expressive feet remain at right angles throughout, denouncing any delicacy expected of her; she doesn't want to be a prize in competition. Her angst-ridden performances with the king who's about to marry her off and the villain who wants to marry her are easily readable conversations. The problem is, in its quieter moments, it's not so captivating.
The design is a lot more intricate but with equally striking, filmic effects. It presents us with two strange bedfellows, who in fact don't seem entirely opposed to each other. Katrina Lindsay's design takes its cue from the delicate paper cuttings of Andersen himself. Whole kingdoms are created from paper in a grand but muted way that reminds me of The Emerald City. She pairs this with Lucy Carter's bright and colourful lighting design and the soundtrack provided by Pet Shop Boys. The space is used exceptionally well with huge projections making the show accessible to everyone, including the second circle.
Be warned, there are those who might call this overproduced. With big set changes and two intervals it does lose some of its impact by giving us forty minutes to stand around doing nothing and subsequently struggles to draw us back in. It is very theatrical and at times a little gaudy, but it's supposed to be. The Most Incredible Thing will draw in everyone, especially families. If you miss the lights and colours of the '80s, know and be glad: they're well and truly alive and kicking.
The Most Incredible Thing runs at Sadler's Wells until 26th March
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