Revisor
When choreographer Crystal Pite and theatre maker Jonathon Young work together, the result is theatrical fireworks that reverberate for a long time. After Betroffenheit, seen during Julidans 2018 in Amsterdam, they now take a vintage political comedy as their starting point.
Dance and theatre in an exuberant performance about greed and corruption.
Start time: 20:00
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes, no intermission
Location: Rabozaal
Language: English with Dutch surtitles
In The Revisor (1836), the writer Nikolai Gogol hid his social criticism in a classic “comedy of errors” about greed and corruption. Even Tsar Nicolas I is said to have laughed at it. Taking this political comedy as a starting point, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young target the weaknesses of our society. An exuberant and astute performance, in which dance and theatre fit seamlessly together.
-|-Canadian Crystal Pite is one of the big stars of the contemporary dance scene. When she teams up with her compatriot Jonathon Young, it makes for "a stunning demonstration of what can happen when life becomes art," in the words of Britain's The Globe and Mail. The impressive Betroffenheit resulted in, among other things, an Olivier Award, the highest award in British theatre.
In the press
‘a nightmarish, beautiful, mind-blowing journey’ - ★★★★★ The Telegraph
‘marvellously danced and superbly staged’ - ★★★★★ Independent
‘witty, intelligent and utterly absorbing’ - ★★★★★ Financial Times
‘astonishing’ - ★★★★★ The Guardian
Kidd Pivot
World-renowned for radical hybrids of dance and theatre, Kidd Pivot creations are assembled with a keen sense of wit and invention. Led by Canadian choreographer and director Crystal Pite, the company is unflinching in the face of such challenging and complex themes as trauma, addiction, conflict, consciousness and mortality. Pite’s bold and original vision has earned her international acclaim and inspired an entire generation of dance artists.
Kidd Pivot strives to distill and translate universal questions into artworks that connect us to profound and essential parts of humanity. “Running through all of our work is the question of what moves us,” says Pite.
-|-Kidd Pivot tours internationally with critically acclaimed works such as Betroffenheit and Revisor (both co-created with playwright Jonathon Young), The Tempest Replica, Dark Matters, Lost Action, and The You Show.
Since 2015, Kidd Pivot has measured its touring carbon footprint and offset over 1000 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), enabling Kidd Pivot to be one of the first dance companies to tour carbon neutral.
In a choreographic career spanning three decades, Crystal Pite has created over 50 works for companies including The Royal Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater I, Cullberg Ballet, Ballett Frankfurt, The National Ballet of Canada, Ballets Jazz Montréal (resident choreographer 2001–04), and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Pite is a Member of the Order of Canada, and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Benois de la Danse, Canada Council Jacqueline Lemieux Prize, Grand Prix de la danse de Montréal, two UK Critics’ Circle Dance Awards, three Laurence Olivier Awards, and the 2022 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. She began her dance career as a company member of Ballet British Columbia (Ballet BC), then William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, and is currently Associate Choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater I, Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre, and Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells in London. She holds an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University and is a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2002, she formed Kidd Pivot in Vancouver.
Canadian theatre artist Jonathon Young is playwright-in-residence at Kidd Pivot and a core artist of Electric Company Theatre, where he has created and performed in over 20 original productions: Tear the Curtain! (Arts Club Theatre, Canadian Stage), No Exit (American Conservatory Theatre), Betroffenheit (international tour). He has worked as an actor on stages across Canada : Knives in Hens (Coalmine Theatre), The Full Light of Day (Electric Company/ Luminato Festival), All But Gone (Necessary Angel, Toronto), The Great Gatsby (Theatre Calgary), Hamlet (Bard on the Beach, Vancouver). In addition to Betroffenheit and Revisor, Jonathon collaborated with Crystal Pite on two productions for Nederlands Dans Theater (Parade and The Statement). Jonathon is the recipient of an Olivier Award and the UK National Dance Award.
Credits
concept Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young
text Jonathon Young
choreography and direction Crystal Pite
composition and sound Owen Belton, Alessandro Juliani en Meg Roe
scenography Jay Gower Taylor
lighting design Tom Visser
costumes Nancy Bryant
producer’s assistant Eric Beauchesne
cast and characters dancers
Renee Sigouin Mischa
Doug Letheren Director of the Complex
Jermaine Spivey Postmaster Wieland
Rena Narumi Interrogator Klak
Ella Rothschild Minister Desouza
Brandon Alley Doctor Harlow
Jennifer Florentino Anna (Wife of the Director)
Brandon Alley Osip (Assistant to the Revisor)
Gregory Lau The Revisor
Rakeem Hardy Swing
Vivian Ruiz Swing
voices
Meg Roe Narrator / Inspector
Scott McNeil Director of the Complex
Alessandro Juliani Postmaster Wieland
Kathleen Barr Interrogator Klak
Nicola Lipman Minister Desouza
Gerard Plunkett Doctor Harlow
Amy Rutherford Anna
Ryan Beil Osip
Jonathon Young The Revisor
-|-voice director Meg Roe
technical director Jeff Harrison
stage carpenter Jethelo Espaldon Cabilete
audio and show control Ilvs Strauss
wig and wardrobe coordinator Stevie Hale Jones
set and prop construction Great Northern Way Scene Shop
cutter Janet Dundas
costume assistant and buyer Alaia Hamer
stitchers Oriana Comporesse, Christine Pampel, Megan Veaudry and Heather Young
headpiece sculptor Heidi Wilkinson
company manager on tour Brent Belsher
executive producer Jim Smith
producer Francesca Piscopo
associate producer Sabine Rouques
cover photo Tiffany Tregarthen by Michael Slobodian
produced by Kidd Pivot in association with Eponymous.
co-produced by Sadler’s Wells (London, UK), Théâtre de la Ville/La Villette (Paris, France), Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Banff, Canada), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (North Carolina, US), Canadian Stage (Toronto, Canada), Seattle Theatre Group (Seattle, US), and The Hamber Foundation (British Columbia, Canada).
This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter Program. With this $35M investment, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.
