This weekend: from slapstick to Greek tragedy

Posted on July 29, 2011

Watch This Space, the festival of free performance held outside London’s National Theatre, focuses on family fun this weekend – though there’s a dash of dark physical theatre, too.

Capitán Maravilla’s Mono A Mono B, performed today at 1.15pm and 6.15pm, features two cheeky monkeys trampolining on a Mini. Today and tomorrow, from 2pm-5pm, the Bureau of Silly Ideas argue that there should be competitive pie-throwing in the London Olympics in 2012. Come and join this campaign to redefine the sporting landscape, but make sure what you’re wearing is pie-resistant. The award-winning Bash Street Theatre bring a silent movie to life in The Station, complete with daredevil rescue, slapstick chase and a dramatic train crash.

In complete contrast, tonight and tomorrow you can watch Philip Haas’s The Death of Pentheus (pictured), projected onto the huge expanse of the National’s flytower. Inspired by the art on ancient Greek dishes and vases, it tells the story of Pentheus, torn apart by women in an ecstatic frenzy. The cast includes actors Julian Glover and Kate Fleetwood, and the dancer and choreographer Will Tuckett. The work was created for the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas – see www.kimbellart.org for more information.

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.