UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey is overwhelmed by technology

Chien-Shun Liao and Jasiah Marshall in Wayne McGregor's UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey

Company Wayne McGregor in UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey

Salvatore De Simone in UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey

Company Wayne McGregor in UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyessy

Jordan James Bridge and Rebecca Bassett-Graham in UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey

By Graham Watts, 21 May 2023

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“these were important images to convey ecological disaster, but they overpowered the dance”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House: Linbury Theatre, London on 17 May 2023

The Dark Crystal: Odyssey (Sir Wayne McGregor)

Company Wayne McGregor

Dr Alex Box, Costume Designer

Salomé Pressac, Dancer

Jordan James Bridge, Dancer

The Royal Ballet and McGregor: stunning dancing but nothing really new

Deborah Weiss, 18th April

An evening of ballets by Wayne McGregor, including the world premiere of Quantum Souls, proved to be a little too much of the same thing.

***11

Woolf Works for The Royal Ballet: reaching poetic depths

Maggie Foyer, 17th January

Woolf Works returns to Royal Opera House stage showcasing some of Wayne McGregor’s best choreography and a roster of exceptional performances.

****1

Ballet superstars in Frankfurt for a night to savour

Vikki Jane Vile, 30th November

For one night only, audiences in Frankfurt were treated to some world class ballet on the expansive stage of the Jahrhunderthalle.

****1

Wayne McGregor’s Jocasta’s Line offers powerful performances

Maggie Foyer, 13th September

A dramatic staging of two Greek myths, Wayne McGregor’s Jocasta’s Line is an epic production for Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, a truly modern and totally original work.

****1

McGregor’s Deepstaria explores the deepest recesses of the oceans

Graham Watts, 27th February

A visually striking and thought-provoking work requiring continual concentration to absorb.

***11

The Royal Ballet: MaddAddam is carried by sublime performances

Amanda Jennings, 14th November

The combination of spectacular backdrops and evocative film projections are visually stunning and the dancers are superb, but Wayne McGregor's MaddAddam is difficult to follow.

***11

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.