Thursday, August 16, 2012

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's ballet to tour UK


Rapunzel photo by Lee Callaghan

Duffy has written for the stage before but has never written a ballet

A ballet based on the fairy tale Rapunzel, written by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, is to tour the UK after premiering in Durham in October.

Choreographed by Liv Lorent, it will be Duffy's first dance collaboration.
A £600,000 grant from The Monument Trust will enable the ballet to tour in Hull and Newcastle before moving to Sadler's Wells in London in March.
Actress Lesley Sharp will be the narrator, alongside a cast of young children and professional dancers.
The composer is Murray Gold, whose credits include Shameless and Doctor Who, while the costume designer is Michele Clapton, who has worked on the TV series Game of Thrones.
"Most of us remember Rapunzel's hair and the tower, but we're a bit hazy on the rest of the story," said Lorent. "It has been told again and again.
"But we're telling an older, slightly darker version, more akin to its Grimm tale origins."
Duffy, who became the first female Poet Laureate when she was appointed in 2009, has written for the stage before but has never written a ballet.
"Fairy tales are both strange and familiar, frightening and reassuring, and provide a map of childhood which we can still use as adults to remember who we are," she said.
"Their re-telling and reinterpretation is part of the lifeblood of literature."

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