This past six weeks or so have been a case of feast or famine insofar as the world of theatre is concerned. August was definitely a famine – and drought – with only one engagement in the whole month; September, however, brings the feast – and the rain! When it comes to feasts there can be no more lavish caterers than Northern Ballet (and Opera North of course) whose Merlin, was magnificent throughout all the courses. None of your nouvelle cuisine or tasting menu, this was a nosh up of greasy spoon proportions with the flair of a three-star Michelin chef.
This is where I normally provide you with a synopsis of the plot, well, not this time Sunshine, as the one in the programme takes longer to read than the ballet did to perform. Like most legends there is forbidden love, unrequited love, battles, dragons, vicious guard dogs, princesses, princes, forests, seas, and, of course, magic.
Kevin Poeung and Excalibur.
This is the very same Merlin who was part of King Arthur’s court in Camelot, but it is his back-story and includes the creation of both him, and his sword, Excalibur. The first element of which was, obviously, where the ballet began, as did the special effects. It stemmed from a getting together of two Gods, The Lady of the Lake and The Sun God, Helios. The fruit of this liaison was an orb of light, which illuminated the world as it fell to earth, obviously taking after its dad. It turned out to be a kind of extra terrestrial egg, as it was discovered by a passing female Blacksmith, who, on examination, found it to contain a baby. As there was no sign of anyone who could take care of it, she took on the responsibility herself.
All of the above happened in the first five minutes or so before the real two-hour story began, so you can see why I have skipped the full monty. It also gave a taster of the effects which were to follow, the orb and its landing were stunning. The mother’s genetic contribution to the offspring was to appear later in a swimming scene, superbly executed by the cast, with only the use of costumes and an amazing long wig, which seemed to be flowing underwater when the ballerina concerned, Heather Lehan, ‘swam’ through the sea of dancers.
Speaking of magical effects, there was a dance early on in the piece where half of the company had small lights in their hands, and proceeded to throw them at an opposite number in the other half. The lights disappeared only to reappear in the mits of their partner. The process was then repeated in the opposite direction. I was quite close to the stage but I could not work out how this was done.They were all obviously holding a light and switched it on and off as required, but their hands appeared to be empty. Well, it had me impressed anyway.
Antoni Cañellas Artigues as Vortigern, King of The Solar Kingdom
It was the Blacksmith, Amber Lewis, who crafted Excalibur to give to Merlin as his eighteenth birthday present to protect him when she sent him off to war. It seemed to do the trick, as he survived the battles and escapades which followed, but he wasn’t best pleased about being shunted into an army.
The Sun and Sea motif was repeated in the two opposing armies, The Solar Kingdom and The Kingdom of the Tides. You would have thought that he could have got his mum and dad to sort it out, but I suppose that would have made for a very short ballet.
As usual, the dancing, especially the execution of some of the more intricate moves and the fight scenes, which were bang in sync, was spectacular. Having never been, what you might call, athletically inclined, the fitness and suppleness of those involved never fails to amaze me.
After War Horse last month I got another dose of puppetry, with the aforementioned dragon and a couple of vicious looking guard dogs. Whilst not as large as the equine, they were just as spectacular, if not more so, with the dragon lighting up and breathing smoke, and the mutts being very menacing.
Although Merlin had magical powers, they were not potent enough to impress Morgan, a Senior General in the Solar Kingdom’s Army, to whom he took a fancy whilst in training for combat. She was besotted by Uther but he only had eyes for Ygraine. And you thought Love Island was mad.
After a lot of shenanigans, Merlin is reunited with his parents and the Blacksmith, with whom he was now reconciled, and realising that he had a choice to make between the parties – although I don’t know why they couldn’t all live happily ever after, he plunges Excalibur into the huge tree, the thought being that it might assist someone else who was in need of a magic talisman. I assume that it was utilised by someone as, in the legend of King Arthur, it was embedded in a stone, so it must have been treated like those electric rental bikes. The tree had become a recurring feature throughout, being set alight at the end of Act One and now pierced by a sword, on both occasions it had turned red in an impressive light effect.
The choreography, by Drew McOnie was incredible and the music, which was recorded, by Grant Holding, sublime.
So, my education in the art of ballet has taken another step towards 11+ level and I am enjoying every minute of it. Should you wish to share in my pleasure, please go to https://northernballet.com/merlin where you can find out more, watch a trailer and book. The run at Leeds Grand Theatre continues until Saturday, 20th September, 2025 after which it moves on to Nottingham Theatre Royal – 15th to 18th October, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre – 4th to 8th November and Norwich Theatre Royal – 12th to 15th November.
To see what else is coming to Leeds Grand Theatre click on https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/?theatre=leeds-grand-theatre
For news of all Northern Ballet’s productions it is https://northernballet.com/
Photographs credit Tristram Kenton
Tyke It To The Limit 