Review: Rambert’s Death Trap (Touring)

Tuesday, 3rd October 2023 at York Theatre Royal.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This double bill from Rambert promises journeys between life and death, exploring zest for the former and varied attitudes towards the latter. With a stellar company bringing Ben Duke’s fantastically varied and theatrical choreography to life in all its shades of darkness and light, Death Trap is a journey for its audiences, too.

The first piece, Cerberus, loosely follows the Orpheus and Eurydice legend as we witness Aishwarya, followed by a stream of people, disappear into the underworld (or as it is represented in theatrical terms: exiting stage left, as is helpfully explained). Each individual moves from life to death in their own way while our Orpheus flails in attempts to find Aishwarya and save these strangers from an inevitable (if ambiguous) fate.

One of the Cerberus’ biggest highlights is a mesmerising sequence of movement, combining synchronised choreography with individual break-out pieces, providing a vision not unlike an ironic catwalk. But the breakout performances offer a beautiful kaleidoscope of approaches to death and the beyond: flailing attempts to avoid it; hurtling towards it with apparent oblivion or simply a synchronised, stylised march towards the inevitable. It makes for enthralling viewing in terms of physicality, but also in terms of interpreting the wordless narratives playing out, too.

Yet even with such sobering themes and ominous, sometimes unnerving visuals, comedy also dominates at intervals as our lead role is thrown upon an unsuspecting crew member, chaotically joined by an overzealous translator. And this balance of light and dark continues in the second piece, Goat, which teaches us not to underestimate the comic value of an intrusive TV presenter-type (the brilliant Angélique Blasco) insistent on unpicking abstract choreography in everyday language.

Goat is possibly the more daring and disturbing of the two, thanks to Tom Rogers’ costume design and Jackie Shemesh’s lighting, but it is also particularly effective in its use of the great Nina Simone’s music – most perfect of all when it comes to “Feeling Good” – after all, what better song for capturing that moment when the music exits the body and we’re left in an in-between state, deciding whether to dive in again or return to reality? “Ain’t Got No/ I Got Life” also paves the way for a lively highlight and allows for vocalist Sheree DuBois to shine with an expressive, evocative voice (joined by live band: Caroline Jaya-Ratnam, Romarna Campbell, Dave Manington).

Playfully dark and at times mesmerising, Death Trap deals with some of life’s biggest questions with a mildly twisted but irresistible charm.

Rambert company credits:

Adél Bálint, Aishwarya Raut, Alex Soulliere, Angélique Blasco, Antonello Sangiradi, Archie White, Cali Hollister, Conor Kerrigan, Dylan Tedaldi, Hannah Hernandez, Jonathan Wade, Joseph Kudra, Max Day, Musa Motha, Naya Lovell, Seren Williams, Simone Danbury- Würtz.

Death Trap tours until April 25th 2024 – more information can be found here.

Images credit: Camilla Greenwell.