Blending the dance style of flamenco with the beautiful sounds of Sufi music, ZIK’R is a reworking of a piece that has had a previous life at many venues across the UK.The musicians work beautifully together creating a wonderful sound that immediately hooks the audience. They are clearly an intuitive team who have worked so closely over the years that this relationship effortlessly creates the backbone of the piece. This, entwined with the first performance from our leading lady is perfectly pitched with the music and dance working seamlessly as one.
After the initial piece the show then starts its journey, beginning with its Indian influences. The elements of Indian dance showcased were captivating and fantastic to watch. Throughout the show there are some amazing pieces, beautifully choreographed by Francisco Hidalgo and Lola Rueda, but unfortunately it is the fusion between flamenco and its different influences along the way that did not really transcend. The show has no clear narrative, which would have been fine had it not been so stilted direction wise, but as the format follows more or less the same pattern throughout, with a song followed by a song and dance and so on and so forth, it became quite repetitive. The long pauses between pieces where the cast were preparing for the next section meant that it did not flow as well as it could have.
The stand out performance came from Francisco Hidalgo. The precision and clarity of his performance was flawless, as well as his unrivalled storytelling throughout, demonstrating the passion and strength that flamenco dance is famous for. He was enchanting to watch from the second he walked onto the stage, and his manipulation of the flamenco style was impressive to watch.
The use of lighting really helped to lift the performance and transport us to these wonderfully hot and magnificent countries that inspired the dance we are watching. Using a beautiful wash of colour juxtaposed with the silhouettes of the musicians throughout really created that sense of being at a music festival in summer, which is perhaps where this show would fit best.
Harold Brighouse's vintage comedy, HOBSON’S CHOICE, is what is known as a “crowd pleaser”. A big, warm, family comedy set in picturesque Edwardian Lancashire and featuring vivid characters that mostly turn out to have hearts of gold.