INTERVIEW
Asif Kapadia and Akram Khan
IN THE OPENING SCENE OF CREATURE, a new film based on an English National Ballet production at Sadler’s Wells two years ago, a man appears out of nowhere, writhing, squirming, twitching. He is not in agony but suffering from something possibly worse: bewilderment. When he walks, he loses his footing. It’s a ballet turned upside down; instead of rising to the air in an elegant saute, the dancer flounders uncomfortably on the ground. Creature, as the nameless protagonist is known, has been transplanted to an entirely unfamiliar environment – a polar research station – where he is being subjected to an experiment to test the limits of the human body to endure cold, isolation and homesickness.
The architects of this film were themselves transplanted to an unfamiliar environment when making it. Asif Kapadia, known for directing documentary portraits of Amy Winehouse and Diego Maradona, had never even been to see a ballet when he was asked to adapt this one for the cinema. It would also be a first feature film for Creature’s originator, Akram Khan, a choreographer known for injecting a heavy dose of south Asian and contemporary dance into the genteel ballet world. Khan has won an Olivier award and Kapadia an Oscar. Despite their mastery of their disciplines, neither has dared venture too far outside them – until now.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 24, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 24, 2023-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
The Three-Coffee Ritual That Fuels A Nation's Daily Grind
500k Tonnes of coffee beans produced each year by Ethiopian farmers
Rising Hopes - Could Latest Ceasefire Talks Yield A Breakthrough?
There has been a recent flurry of activity around the talks, with an uptick of optimism about progress.
Fears Of A New War On Border With Lebanon As Tensions Rise
For the Israeli communities evacuated from the country's far north in the aftermath of 7 October, there is no longer any doubt about whether full-scale war with Hezbollah in Lebanon is going to happen. For most people, the only question is when.
World in motion
The Venice Biennale's 'foreigners everywhere' theme leaves Adrian Searle beguiled, tantalised - and frequently appalled
A hard-right tidal wave is coming, and outrunning it will be difficult - Gordon Brown
By the time of the European parliament elections in June, this year's rightward ebb in European politics will have turned into a tidal wave. Ultra-nationalist demagogues and populist-nationalists are now leading the polls in Italy, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, and running second in Germany and Sweden.
Shock and ore - Anglo sale would strip the jewel from South Africa's crown
The world's largest mining company has a problem. Australia's BHP has set out its intention to snap up the rival miner Anglo American in a multibillion-pound deal that would reshape the global industry.
In his Maga heartlands, Trump is a victim not a defendant
In one US, he cuts a diminished, humbled figure. \"He seems considerably older and he seems annoyed, resigned, maybe angry,\" said broadcaster Rachel Maddow of MSNBC after seeing Donald Trump up close in court. \"He seems like a man who is miserable to be here.\"
Seoul man - Ambassador by day, samba sensation by night
Brazil's latest music sensation grinned from ear to ear as he moseyed down Copacabana beach contemplating his unusual rise to fame.
Preserving the shoes of Stutthof
Leather footwear from Nazi concentration camps ended up at the Baltic coast base, and campaigners want them to be salvaged
On French coast, hope outweighs risk of death or Rwanda
Five drowned last week as a packed dinghy tried to cross the Channel, but those seeking a better life remain undeterred