Cinderella In New York

"End of the Night"

The marketing is beginning to increase exponentially for Disney's next live action remake "Cinderella" but, sadly, there isn't much I've seen that inspires me to see the film.

This new, mixed-media look at Disney's Cinderella, currently making the rounds on Tumblr, is far more interesting to me. For some reason, putting these animated characters into real backgrounds really makes you think about the story, and perhaps more about the many different types of Cinderella stories there are, including those under our noses today (and particularly if you live in New York).

"Mean Girls"

The artist responsible is New York based photographer and musician Harry McNally, for his new series titled Moments Like These. And Cinderella isn't the only familiar "neighbor" you'll discover in a very current New York context.

McNally places our most beloved Disney characters in the most real (and so New York) situations: The evil step-sisters parade around the Upper West Side as if they're fresh out ofGossip Girl; Alice gets lost in the subway instead of Wonderland (because who hasn't?); and Jasmine orders bottle service... at the club. 

"The photographs were not taken with the intention of adding characters to them," he tells Refinery29. "The idea for that came one night while I was obsessively reviewing my photo archive. The scenes depicted in the photographs can be suggestive, some more than others. A situation is already there, ready to be imagined. Adding the character element makes the situation more of a 'moment.'" (source)

I've seen a lot of variations looking at Disney in modern context but this series does a great job of telling the story in a very fresh way (though I think the flippant commentary on the images, care of the reporter in the linked source, detracts). The angles and sizes are so well done it doesn't take much of a stretch of one's imagination to turn these animated figures into possibly-very-real people.

"Transformation"

My other favorite is the confused Alice in the subway, trying to choose which tunnel to take... You can see her and more characters-in-context HERE and buy (pricey) prints HERE.

Mats Ek's Modern "Sleeping Beauty" Is A Recovering Junkie Making Her Own Happy Ending

Created by Damian Siqueiros for created for the 2013-2014 Season of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens of Montreal

Mats Ek's Sleeping Beauty - Les Grands Ballets Canadiens - 2013

CALGARY: OCT 31 - NOV 3, 2013/ EDMONTON: NOV 6-7, 2013

There are two acclaimed modern Sleeping Beauty ballet productions debuting this month. The first, by world renowned Swedish choreographer Mats Ek, although not a new work, is a new production and will be performed in Alberta (Canada) for the first time. The other (by English choreographer Matthew Bourne) is a brand new which debuted in the UK this past year and is deserving of its own separate post (which should post this weekend).

This modern Sleeping Beauty ballet (and this production) is by all reports unforgettable but despite using Tchaikovsky's lovely score (which I knew by heart at age 5) the issues and narrative centering around a recovering "girl interrupted" type character, mean this interpretation is definitely not for kids (at least not without adult supervision). There are also nods to that "other" half of Perrault's Sleeping Beauty (& The Sun, Moon & Talia) as she finds herself pregnant and bewildered upon awakening from her overdose, with her happily ever after still quite a journey away. The explorations of human psyche and inter personal relationships using the Sleeping Beauty tale have critics in agreement that this is a magnificent work. Because of the modern ballet medium and Mat Ek's humor, however, not everything is necessarily clear along the way to even balletically savvy audiences. For instance those three ladies on the sides of the image below are fairies, and (in past productions) the audience is treated to a recipe for fish broth by a chef who appears on stage, for what purpose exactly, I still haven't read a good explanation. Despite this, the interpretation is considered a modern masterpiece and not to be missed.

Mats Ek has a penchant for taking classic stories and modernizing them with a visceral and controversial edge, while still managing to contain a sense of humor (albeit a dark one). Images from his Giselle  - both fascinating and provoking - stay with me to this day. I'm told his Sleeping Beauty would likely do the same.

I love this summary of how the Sleeping Beauty tale is updated and the quotes by Mats Ek himself that it contains, explaining not only his approach to this ballet but to fairy tales in general:

Created in 1996 for Hamburg Ballet, Sleeping Beauty tells the modern story of Princess Aurora, now a rebellious teen who has fallen victim to the prick of a heroin needle and a menacing drug dealer who has no intention of saving her. Lifted by the stirring sounds of Tchaikovsky and Ek’s signature dark humour, audiences will dive into the many troubling and beautiful layers of the human psyche, exploring death, love, jealousy, revenge and happy endings with 30 dancers from Les Grands Ballets. “A fairy tale is like a pretty little house, but there’s a sign on the door saying ‘land mines! ’All fairy tales have things in common: princesses, witches, kings and queens, Good and Evil. But each one also has something unique about it, because inexplicable things happen. InSleeping Beauty, for me, this mysterious moment is the actual prick of the thorn, with the sleep that follows. What does this mean, and what is really going on? I have an irrepressible storytelling urge. Rereading myths, legends and fairy tales, discovering their obvious aspects, sabotaging them and re-creating them—in other words, taking them seriously—is to my mind an act of the greatest significance.” -Mats Ek Not recommended for children under 12

(Emphasis in bold is mine.)

Take a look at this lovely trailer for the upcoming production:

From The Montreal Gazette:

In Ek’s modern conception, Princess Aurora is a wilful modern woman whose rejection of society’s norms brings her under a spell cast not by a spiteful witch but by a male drug pusher. Aurora’s deep sleep is a result of a drug injection. Her recovery depends on rather more substantial therapy than a prince’s kiss. 

Nowadays, modernizing classic ballets is nothing new... But in 1982, when Ek staged his first classic ballet reworking, Giselle, it was a radical move in the dance world. In its original 1841 version, Giselle loses her mind, kills herself and returns as a spirit in a forest. Instead of a forest, Ek put Giselle in a mental institution. In 1987, he created a Swan Lake with baldheaded swans and a hero unsure of his sexuality. Sleeping Beauty, his final reworking of a major classic to date, was made in 1996 for Hamburg Ballet following an unexpected encounter in Zurich. 

“He was walking outside the Zurich Opera,” Monika Mengarelli recalled recently. Mengarelli is a veteran member of Cullberg Ballet who was in Montreal with its former artistic director, Margareta Lidstrom, to restage Sleeping Beauty, aided by Les Grands’ ballet mistress, Margret Kaufmann. “There’s a park where drug addicts liked to meet or sit. Mats saw a girl on a bench who was clearly an addict.” 

The girl’s plight was the kernel that grew into Sleeping Beauty. It was typical of Ek. All of his works are sparked by experiences grounded in the real world.

Here's the official write-up for the production from Les Grands Ballets Canadiens:

One of the world’s most acclaimed choreographers of the 20th Century, Swedish maverick Mats Ek’s trademark black humour comes to Alberta for the first time with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal's riveting rendition of his Sleeping Beauty. Set to Tchaikovsky's spell-binding score, this adult fairytale takes Aurora on a quest for the unknown and is nothing short of astonishing. Created in an esthetic that is at once subversive, highly comical and yet deeply troubled, Mats Ek’s remarkable version of Princess Aurora’s mythical odyssey has been acclaimed and cherished around the world as one of the great choreographic masterpieces of the century. (Parental guidance is advised.)

If you love ballet and/or modern dance I recommend reading the full article at The Montreal Gazette which details some of the dancers' challenges in executing Ek's choreography and narrative as opposed to the traditionally grueling technical challenges of Petipa's traditional ballet version of Sleeping Beauty.

You can find information about tickets and times HERE.

Theater: Angela Carter's "Hairy Tales" Starting This Week

Poster Angela Carter's "Hairy Tales" by Imaginary Beasts (2013)
Writer Angela Carter kidnapped the fairy tale and took it to a very dark place -- darker than even the gloomy depths of the Black Forest where the stories themselves were born. Although the characters of her tales are familiar, the stakes are much higher, the violence much bloodier and the politics far more radical. Now director Matthew Woods presents Hairy Tales, a dramatization of Carter's most terrifying takes on works of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. This adults-only show features Vampirella, a Gothicized version of "Sleeping Beauty" tinged with bloodlust, and The Company of Wolves, a harrowing adaptation where Little Red Riding Hood discovers the beast ... within. (Goldstar)

I'd buy in ticket in a heartbeat if I had any way of getting to Boston. It's almost showtime but there's still a couple of days before it debuts to get tickets.

Here's what's happening in a nutshell:

There's an adults-only theatrical presentation and exploration of Angela Carter's fairy tale short stories and radio plays (by theater company Imaginary Beasts) AND a complimentary, family-friendly presentation (by Wee Beasties) of Carter's Puss In Boots.

WHEN: October 4 - 26, 2013

Angela Carter collage tribute

If you'd like a refresher on Angela Carter and her work I recommend these two articles for starters (and then go re-read The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories at the very least):

 - Marina Warner on Why Angela Carter's Bloody Chamber Still Bites (an edited extract of Marina Warner’s introduction to the Folio Society edition of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and other Stories)
"Carter’s fairy-tale heroines reclaim the night."

 - Femme Fatale (from The Guardian - Angela Carter's subversive take on traditional fairy stories in The Bloody Chamber is as shocking today as when the collection first appeared in 1979)
"The Bloody Chamber is often wrongly described as a group of traditional fairy tales given a subversive feminist twist. In fact, these are new stories, not re-tellings. As Angela Carter made clear, "My intention was not to do 'versions' or, as the American edition of the book said, horribly, 'adult' fairy tales, but to extract the latent content from the traditional stories and to use it as the beginnings of new stories."

I'm pasting most of the blurb from the Hairy Tales Facebook Event Page below so you have all the info ASAP and am putting some of it in bold to help you get the gist of this awesome sounding piece of theater:

___________________________________________

 "...the grey beasts howled among
the rows of winter cabbage as she
freely gave him the kiss she owned
him." by Fay Huo

Now is the time the wild beasts come out, now is the savage time of year… Shut the shutters! Bar the door! Throw more logs on the fire! Make a great blaze! Keep the wolves outside! 

And come. Be cozy by the fire as we spin for you twisted tales of terror inspired by the vivid imagination of Angela Carter. “Sleeping Beauty” becomes a Gothic tale of blood lust in Vampirella, and in The Company of Wolves, Little Red Riding Hood discovers the beast within.  

This double-bill re-imagines fairy stories of yore, challenging your perceptions. 

Considered one of the most influential British writers of the post-WWII era, Angela Carter was prolific and adventurous in her art. One of her favorite forms was the radio play. The Beasts will offer audiences the experience of "hearing" a radio play while witnessing strange, dream-like live performances. 

Artistic Director Matthew Woods helms the production as auteur/director. The production will feature original music by composer Sam Beebe and the dark and whimsical designs of IRNE award winner Cotton Talbot-Minkin.  

Laura Kerridge

To complement this adults-only exploration, Wee Beasties, an off-shoot of Imaginary Beasts geared towards audiences of all ages, will offer family-friendly matinees of Carter’s comic romp, Puss In Boots, directed by company member and fringe favorite Michael Underhill.

Imaginary Beasts is part of the Emerging Theatre Company program at the Boston Center for the Arts.
WHEN: October 4 - 26, 2013

Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 pm

There will be a special Wednesday performance on October 23, at 7:30 pm. 

There will be two special Pay What You Can nights on the 2nd and 3rd Thursdays during the run, available in person at the box office only.

Written by: Angela Carter
Directed by: Matthew W. Woods

(Note: more cast and crew listed on the event page)  

_______________________________________________________________________

About imaginary beasts:
http://www.imaginarybeasts.org/

imaginary beasts...
...is an incubator for adventurous theatre making.

We provide our members a unique chance to explore and develop theatre in an ongoing studio environment.

Devoted to pushing the boundaries of how theatre is made and who can make it, we bring together traditional and non-traditional performance artists to produce work for an eclectic public.

______________________________________

Elizabeth Moriarty

A little more information about the show from BroadwayWorld:

"Vampirella," a sparkling and startling reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, introduces us to a virginal Hero who is making a trip through the Carpathians. Along the way he is taken into the home of the Lady Nosferatu, whose ancestors haunt the castle as she struggles with her desire for love and her desire to drain the Hero. In "The Company of Wolves," old Granny tells horrifying stories of werewolves meant to caution her granddaughter against wicked men. However, the stories only fuel her imagination and desires, leading to an inevitable encounter with the Wolf. In Puss in Boots, everyone's favorite feline trickster helps his master find love in the most unlikely of scenarios.

Why do we not see more Carter-inspired presentations?

I've seen a few nods to her work via illustrations and paintings in galleries but rarely any performance art and nothing really in film beyond A Company Of Wolves in 1984 (can you believe that was nearly 30 years ago??). Too visceral, perhaps? I don't know. It would definitely need a smart and sensitive director with a delicate touch  - whether for theater or film - to balance all the necessary elements but Hairy Tales sounds like a very exciting project to be involved with. I really wish I could see it. 

I do hope there are some write-ups, reviews and possibly some photos from the show afterward. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Behind the Scenes of Fairy Tales by Rosie Hardy

What REALLY went on with those characters behind closed doors!

A talented, young photographer named Rosie Hardy, has done a wonderful job at relating fairy tale scenarios to real life issues that don't usually have a happy ending.

Her unusual self-portrait set of 'behind the scenes' fairy tale photos on flickr are not your usual dreamy visions, or even stylized goth versions of the fairy tale heroines. No. These girls just might be your next door neighbors, girls you went to school with, your cousins, your aunts, your sisters and maybe even your mothers - and their tales all have a sobering side to them.

In posting her photos Rosie has thoughtfully added statistics about social issues, addictions and other problems our fairy tale characters could relate to. It'll make you rethink those familiar stories from a modern and relevant perspective. Instead of just posting the photos I'm giving you screen captures so you can see the connections she's made (and perhaps entice you to check out the rest for yourself).

The issues are not always comfortable to consider but I feel like applauding the wonderful job Rosie did on these. Talk about showing how the tales can be relevant to today!

Check out the rest of her 'behind the scenes' fairy tales set HERE and see more of her photography HERE.

The Fallen Princesses Project

Photographer Dina Goldstein takes a look at what happens AFTER happily ever after and looks at unrealistic expectations juxtaposed against real-life issues and situations.

So far in the series are:

- Snow White
- Cinderella
- Rapunzel
- Red Riding Hood
- Sleeping Beauty
- Princess Jasmine
- Belle

Two more scenarios are due to be shot for exhibition in the October 15, 2009 issue of JPEG Magazine.

You can find the story of the photographer's inspiration here as well as more photo-goodness.