Dancing as the Russians roll in
Laurence Green reviews the Edinburgh International Festival
29 August 2008

Nina Ananiashvili, prima ballerina of the State of Ballet of Georgia, stars as Giselle

The most eagerly awaited event in this year's Edinburgh International Festival was the appearance of the State Ballet of Georgia. Founded in the tradition of grand classical ballet, the company has reached new heights under the artistic direction of Nina Ananiashvili, principal ballerina of the Bolshoi, and the opening programme Giselle (Playhouse Theatre) certainly exceeded expectations.

Village girl Giselle falls in love with a young man she knows only as Loys, but who is in fact the nobleman Albrecht, engaged to another and merely toying with her affections. What undoubtedly set this production alight was the presence of prima ballerina Nina Ananiashvili as Giselle. She managed to convey love and longing, joy and despair; emotion seeped out of every pore and she danced with a lightness of touch and effortlessness that was dazzling to watch. She was also strongly supported by an exquisite corps de ballet which brought out the ethereal, somewhat spooky nature of spirits released from their shadowy world. This, indeed, was an evening to savour.

Ms Ananiashvili gave a further masterclass in balletic perfection when she danced in Bizet Variations as part of the company's second programme. The mixed bill showed the company's great dedication and versatility, made even more remarkable by the fact that they were performing while their country was being invaded by Russia.

Meanwhile, at the Traverse Theatre was Philip Ralph's superb new docu-drama Deep Cut, based on events surrounding the infamous Deepcut barracks. Eighteen-year-old Private Cheryl James from Llangollen was one of four young soldiers who died from gunshot wounds at the barracks between 1995 and 2002. Taken from verbatim testimony and publicly available documents, the Welsh company Sherman Cymru provides a compelling account of her family's ordeal.

Also impressive was Druid's production of The New Electric Ballroom (Traverse), written and directed by Enda Walsh. Trapped in the years that have passed since the halcyon days at the ballroom of the title, three sisters in a remote fishing village are obsessed by dark memories of something approaching romance and obsessively re-enact the night when two of them had their hearts broken. A dark fable about the stultifying effects of small-town life, the play is beautifully written and engagingly performed and puts Walsh at the forefront of modern playwrights.

No more intense performance could be found in the official festival than Austrian actor Martin Niedermair's gripping 60-minute monologue which takes you inside the mind of a deranged murderer in a masterly stage version of Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart (Royal Lyceum Theatre). This is the story of a sociopathic loner who kills his neighbour because he has become troubled by the man's "evil eye". While he rants on a staircase, pursued by shadows, the heart of his victim continues to beat beneath the floorboards.

When he is not crawling the long, narrow staircase like some human insect, Niedermair channels his emotions into facial contortions, nervous twitches, looks of horror, hissing and manic excitement. It is an all-consuming role, partly reminiscent of German Expressionist cinema of the 1930s, and it keeps you mesmerised throughout.

The real discovery of the festival, though, was Smetana's rarely performed opera The Two Widows, which Scottish Opera revived in a stylish new production (at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre) sung in English.

Two young widows have contrasting attitudes to life. Karolina lives for the future, enjoys life and runs her estate with great independence. Her cousin Aneka, dressed in mourning, denies her feelings and buries herself in the past. When a handsome stranger arrives Karolina guesses his reasons and instigates a mischievous game of love and jealousy.

The opera is based on a French farce by Jean Pierre Félicien Mallefille which Smetana transposed to the world of the Czech landed gentry. His aim was to write an opera in "the distinguished salon style" to show that the Czech repertoire could contain more than folksy or high-toned patriotic pieces.

The production, directed by Tobias Hoheisel and Imogen Kogge, is a riot of colour and includes many inventive touches (a large rectangular picture frame, for instance, acts as a ruse with characters' "doubles" mirroring and making fun of their other halves). Acting and singing throughout is of a high standard, especially Kate Valentine as a vibrant Karolina, Jane Irwin as the more subdued David Pomeroy as the love object and Nicholas Foiwell as a clownish gamekeeper, while the Orchestra of Scottish Opera under its new musical director Francesco Corti splendidly rises to the occasion and keeps things moving at a brisk pace. A truly life-affirming show.