Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling

Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling review by Emma Johnston

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Ballet: Highland Fling

I Just Wanna Dance!

I love dancing. Dancing makes me happy and soothes my soul. In my opinion, a lot of the problems in the world could be resolved with some interpretive dancing. So when I found out there was a contemporary Scottish ballet on at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow I jumped at the chance to go see it. This tartan filled experience certainly filled the seats and the audience were of all ages and cultures. I have to contribute my enjoyment of the production to the audience themselves, because lets be honest, Glasgow audiences are the best in the world. I'm not open to argument on that.

Remi Andreoni as James in the poster shoot for Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling. Photograph by Graham Wylie.

Romantic Wee Ballet

Highland Fling tells the story of James – a young Scottish man with a passion for drugs, beer and sex. Every night out ends in blurred visions, bad memories, epic falls and more recently hallucinations. James has recently married his childhood sweetheart but despite this he continues to pursue his best friend's girlfriend until he encounters the magical female sylph of his apparent hallucinations. This sylph is a beautiful fairy/demon of another world who starts appearing in every aspect of James' life. He becomes infatuated by her and as his obsession grows, he loses interest in his wife and all aspects of reality itself. James ultimately follows his heart and pursues the sylph to her homeland away from Glasgow. Their love is consummated but ultimately ends in tragedy.

Left: Bethany Kingsley-Garner as the Sylpyh and Remi Andreoni as James in the poster for Scottish Ballet’s Highland Fling. Photograph by Graham Wylie.
Right: Bethany Kingsley-Garner as the Sylpyh in the poster shoot for Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling. Photograph by Graham Wylie.

Smooth Moves?

I am not a ballet expert but I was thoroughly impressed with every aspect of the dancing within the show. They choreographer, Matthew Bourne, not only managed to create an emotion filled ballet but he also managed to mix it up with some ceilidh dancing and add some disco dancing on top. This worked as it opens the world of ballet to a larger fan base who might not particularly understand the history or the art of ballet. The cheeky modern twist shadows the witty nature of the show. The jokes and the general plot of the show are very tongue in cheek and the right side of cheesy. I felt like I was watching ballet/pantomime at times. Believe me this is a massive compliment. I was entertained throughout. Only avoid this show if you hate tartan, because it is everywhere. If you have no preference then you have no reason to not attend.

Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling

Sponsored: by Adam and Company
Directed: and choreographed by Matthew Bourne
Music: La Sylphide by Herman Severin Løvenskjold, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra
Designs: Lez Brotherston
Lighting: Paule Constable