Ferociously physical, surreal… Vardimon’s choreography seems to wrench a bruising truth from its performers
PARK
2005 & 2014
PARK
2005 & 2014
‘Ferociously physical, surreal… Vardimon’s choreography seems to wrench a bruising truth from its performers’
THE GUARDIAN
Park is an urban oasis, a place of refuge from ordinary life where eight characters play, fight, fall in love and learn to survive.
In this playground of relationships, stories intertwine creating a modern day fairy-tale that is alternately sharp, funny and cruel.
A breath-taking collision of highly acute physical theatre, text, athletic dance and funky music, delivering fresh statements about our time.
★★★★
‘choreography and dancing that completely holds the audience spellbound…truly superb’
London Theatre
‘Vardimon’s ability to transform from high and mighty political rhetoric to the baser levels of humanity in one sweeping phrase of body and soul – voice and movement.’
London Dance
‘Jasmin Vardimon seems poised to be the next big popular British export’
NEW YORK TIMES
CREDITS
CONCEPT, DIRECTION AND CHOREOGRAPHY
Jasmin Vardimon MBE
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Vinicius Salles
CREATED WITH & PERFORMED BY
Luke Burrough, Maria Doulgeri, Estéban Fourmi, Nevena Jovanovic, David Lloyd, Silke Muys, Aoi Nakamura, Uroš Petronijevic
ARTISTIC ADVISOR & DRAMATURGY
Guy Bar-Amotz
LIGHTING DESIGN
Chahine Yavroyan
COSTUME DESIGN
Abigail Hammond
SET DESIGN
Originally by Merle Hensel with adaptation by Guy Bar-Amotz
DIGITAL DESIGN
Dan Shorten
SOUNDTRACK DESIGN
Originally by Ohad Fishof with adaptation by Jasmin Vardimon MBE
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ben Harries and Danilo Moroni
PROMO VIDEO
Guy Bar-Amotz
LENGTH
95 minutes plus one interval
PREMIERE
2014 (original version in 2005)
FUNDED BY
Arts Council England
CO-COMMISSIONED BY
Sadler’s Wells, Kent County Council and The Marlowe Theatre
THANKS TO
Exeter Northcott Theatre and Rose Bruford College.
ARTICLES & REVIEWS
choreography and dancing that completely holds the audience spellbound…truly superb
Vardimon’s ability to transform from high and mighty political rhetoric to the baser levels of humanity in one sweeping phrase of body and soul – voice and movement.
Incredible dancing .. a fun and highly accessible introduction to contemporary dance, no less relevant ten years on.
Extraordinary work… beautiful and powerful, maybe unforgettable. Its inspirational qualities were so strong that I suspect most of those who saw it thought at some point that they too should, and could, be a dancer. Do (almost) anything to get yourself a ticket.
Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company’s depiction of park life puts all subsequent pale imitations in the shade
When Jasmin Vardimon says that she’s looking for honesty on-stage, she’s not only referring to the way she asks dancers to approach the making and performing of her company’s repertoire. She’s also talking about the content of that repertoire, of the cogent observations and insights that she channels into choreographies about how we live now, our relationships and our behaviour patterns.
Vardimon’s eight-strong troupe are awesomely skilled in their range and versatile nature of performance- physically terrifying- these performers have been actor trained and fitness trained with intensity equal to any army bootcamp ready for combat.
…the sort of thing that is vital to keeping the dance scene – as a whole – alive. To be (gently) shaken and reminded of the current work at the forefront of contemporary dance is very welcome.
…. the stamina of the ensemble is mind-blowing and their strength never falters …each performer plays their part in maintaining the high quality of the piece with smooth transitions, as the stage is at no point ever left with hesitation.
Confrontational, unpredictable and humane, PARK is an early mark in Vardimon’s career that well bears repeating.
…choreography and dancing that completely holds the audience spellbound
Each member of the company has such a unique and impressive set of skills and characteristics. I have never seen a cast allowed free reign to tear up the space in this way.
Vardimon never fails, be it through text or movement, to comment on socio-political issues with wit and dry humour… frequently playful and joyful splashing full-cast dance
As fresh and dynamic as any newly minted production… Park was beautiful and powerful, maybe unforgettable.
Jasmin Vardimon: Inspirations, aspirations and the new PARK
Vardimon’s work amalgamates the styles of the legendary German and American choreographers Pina Bausch and Mark Morris to create subtle social commentary. It is, however, more physically sophisticated than that produced by acclaimed modern dance companies such as DV8 or Frantic Assembly. Her new work, Park, continues this tradition.
Park is the latest assault on the boundaries between dance and theatre by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon. Devised around a hyper-real representation of a park and its residents, it’s a thrilling urban fantasy that fully demonstrates Vardimon’s drive to strike away at the pretensions associated with theatrical genre. In doing so she has created a show that is accessible to all. It’s a magical piece of work, and one which delivers on many of its ambitious goals.
Vividly physical and quirky performances… the audience was on its feet cheering
Highly original material, beautifully executed by a talented cast
Jasmin Vardimon seems poised to be the next big popular British export
It’s an evening of transformations in the style of a modern fairy tale, baffling and sometimes beguiling and just when it threatens to take itself too seriously, there’s a sort of conspiratorial wink at the audience, a reminder that we shouldn’t worry too much about the meaning but enjoy an enthusiastic piece of outrageous theatre.
Bristling with tension, raw excitement and audacious moves Jasmin Vardimon’s new full-length piece looks at figures seeking escape in an urban park.
British Dance Edition 2006: “Jasmin Vardimon seems poised to be the next big popular British export… her choreographic movement, even when subsumed into her theatrics, looked fresh and sensitive to her dancers’ strengths.”