This is London Magazine New Year Edition 2026 - Flipbook - Page 21
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Photos: Fabienne Rappeneau HD
TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL PINA
BAUSCH 'SWEET MAMBO'
Pina Bausch’s ‘Sweet Mambo' comes
to Sadler’s Wells Theatre from 11 – 21
February. First staged in 2008, the
legendary choreographer’s penultimate
work makes its long-awaited London
premiere at Sadler’s Wells.
Human emotion is captured,
questioned and torn apart in this moving
piece. Bausch’s dancers-turnedcollaborators bring years of experience
to communicate in movement what can’t
be said in words. Created in the
renowned Tanztheater style Bausch made
famous, this performance lays bare the
sweetness and severity of life.
'Sweet Mambo' is one of many pieces
in Bausch’s repertoire representing a
nearly 30 year-long collaboration
between Bausch and Peter Pabst, the
original set designer for the piece.
Characterised by billowing drapes which
were also used in Bausch’s 2007 piece
Bamboo Blues, 'Sweet Mambo' sees
Bausch’s dancers interact with the
curtains. Pabst’s set design maintains an
active conversation with the
choreography, which lends 'Sweet
Mambo' Bausch’s signature visceral
quality. Costumes by longtime
collaborator of Pina Bausch Marion Cito
help to tell the story.
Dancer and choreographer Pina
Bausch (1940–2009) renamed the
Wuppertal Ballet the ‘Tanztheater
Wuppertal’ upon her appointment as
director in 1973. Her idea of combining
dance and theatre revolutionised dance
as we know it today.
Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and
Co-Chief Executive Sir Alistair Spalding
CBE said: ‘It’s a great privilege to finally
bring 'Sweet Mambo' to Sadler’s Wells
in February for its London premiere. Her
penultimate piece, 'Sweet Mambo'
essentialises everything that fascinates
us about Pina’s work – the melancholia,
the morbid and the bittersweet, with an
undercurrent of poignancy. I’m so
looking forward to seeing another Pina
work in its London home.’
BIGRE/FISH BOWL AT THE
PEACOCK THEATRE
French theatre company Compagnie
le Fils du Grand Réseau brings BIGRE /
‘Fish Bowl’ to the Peacock Theatre,
Sadler’s Wells’ home in the West End
this month, in association with
MimeLondon. Created by the company’s
Artistic Director, the renowned French
actor Pierre Guillois, BIGRE / ‘Fish
Bowl’ was awarded the Molière Award
for Best Comedy in 2017.
The production blends theatre and
comedy, following three neighbours
living in small attic apartments in Paris,
as they navigate comedic chaos. Objects
fly around, characters fall flat on their
faces and the whole stage is in total
disarray from various fires, leaks, storms
and other unexpected accidents that
culminate in dizzying chaos.
With one disaster
leading to another
amidst a deluge of jokes,
this quirky trio cling to
anything that looks like
love, life or hope. The
show takes inspiration
from the Grand Guignol,
an infamous Parisian
theatre known from the
late 19th century
for its realism-style of
theatre. As the
performances became
darker and more brutal,
it became known for its
unique productions that used special
effects and stage trickery to explore
everyday life.
Pierre Guillois, Artistic Director of
Compagnie Le Fils du Grand Réseau
said, ‘After the extraordinary welcome we
received from British audiences during
our appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe
in 2019 – as well as at the Brighton
Festival in 2024 – we have been
dreaming of coming to perform Fishbowl
in London, confident that we would find
an audience receptive to physical theater,
inspired by slapstick but also by French
influences such as Jacques Tati, which
lend a unique poetry to the theatrical
madness we offer.’
Performances will run from
28 to 31 January. Tickets are available
from www.sadlerswells.com
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