In the last week or so, i have seen two shows at the Birmingham Hippodrome; Sutra-A fusion of martial arts and dance-and High Society-a 'feel-good' musical.
I found High Society to be the sort of show that didn't require a lot of thinking as it was easy to follow with a simple storyline. In short the plot was about a bride-to-be choosing between her fiancé, her ex-husband and another man who has recently entered her life, but the plot revolves around the question of who she will decide to marry as her wedding day draws closer.
The vintage Hollywood style musical is based on a film of the same name starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly from 1956 but has been adapted for the stage. The staging of the show was very clever, with part of the stage rotating which assisted in set changes which i have to say were very fitting for the lavish house in which it was set and looked incredible.
Although the set was beautiful, i found the general story to be a little boring as it was quite easy to predict how it was going to end. If an easy to watch musical is what you're looking for though then this is perfect but personally i prefer something with a few more twists and turns in the plot.
On a more positive note, i absolutely loved Sutra, as it began i thought i was in for a long ride of slow moving
contemporary dance but as it gathered pace the combination of dance with martial arts was amazing. All performers in the show were monks from the Shaolin Temple in China, with the youngest performer being 10 years old! The show features 21 wooden boxes which are used throughout the performance in various ways, some of which were completely unexpected. I'm not sure if they represented anything in particular but i felt it may be a representation of being held back, as the boxes enclosed them and confined them. I may be completely wrong but my A Level dance class has me always analysing works now to find a meaning.
Sutra 2013 Trailer
For more information about previous Hippodrome shows, you can listen to their podcasts.
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